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DR.  NELLIE  BEIGHLE 

OF  110  GEARY  ST. 
SAN  FRANCISCO 

WISHES   TO  ANNOUNCE  TO  THE  PUBLIC    THAT   HER 

BOOKOF 

knowledge:    \ 
or  psvchic  facts 

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A  FEW  APPRECIATIVE  REVIEWS  OF  THE 
BOOK  OF  KNOWLEDGE,  OR  PSYCHIC  FACTS. 

{From  the  Dramatic  RevietVj  San  Francisco.) 

We  are  in  receipt  of  Psychic  Facts,  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle's  new  book,  which 
she  very  aptly  calls  Book  of  Knoivledge.  It  is  well  worth  the  reading  by 
everyone  interested  in  psychological  studies,  and  is  a  valuable  addition  to  the 
Dramatic  Review  library. 

(From  the  San  Francisco  Call,) 

These  things  and  many  others  are  recounted  in  the  Book  of  Knoivldege. 
The  untutored  mind  of  a  mere  reviewer  cannot  begin  to  reveal  all  the  food 
for  thought  that  lies  between  the  covers  of  that  volume.  Let  the  reader  take  a 
week's  vacation  from  business  and  the  cares  of  the  world  and  lose  himself  in 
the  mystic  misty  mazes  of  this  handbook  to  all  things  knowable. 

{From  the  Philosophical  Journal,  San  Francisco.) 

When  the  Greek  philosopher  and  poet  "Esope"  was  asked  how  a  book 
should  be  judged,  it  is  related  that  he  gave  this  answer: 

"Ascertain  whether  the  author  says  what  he  ought,  whether  he  says  only 
what  he  ought,  and  if  he  says  it  as  he  ought." 

Dr.  Nellie  Beighle's  recent  publication  of  the  Book  of  Knoivledge  comes 
within  the  requirements  of  the  Sage. 

Besides  a  very  interesting  biography  of  the  writer,  the  work  is  teeming 
with  information  regarding  psychic  facts,  proofs  of  immortality,  and  the  over- 
flowing stream  of  revelation  received  by  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  and 
women,  many  of  whom  were,  or  are,  famous  in  this  world's  history. 

Numerous  testimonies  of  her  remarkable  cures,  signed  by  leading  citizens 
in  the  land,  are  embodied  in  the  book,  which  terminates  by  a  series  of  beauti- 
ful lessons  drawn  from  gospel  texts,  and  which  are  a  veritable  illumination  to 
the  truth-seeker. 

{From  the  Banner  of  Light,  Boston.) 

This  work  will  prove  of  absorbing  interest  to  students  of  the  therapeutic 
aspects  of  spirit  mediumship,  as  it  is  brim  full  of  remarkable  statements  of 
cures  effected  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  compiler  of  the  volume.  The 
book  is  partly  autobiographical,  partly  narrative  and  panly  a  compilation  in 


A  FEW  APPRECIATIVE  REVIEWS  OF  THE 
BOOK  OF  KNOWLEDGE,  OR  PSYCHIC  FACTS. 

form,  and  is  quite  instructive  and  entertaining  when  the  authoress  is  dealing 
with  herself. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle,  it  appears,  is  a  native  of  lower  Canada,  and  was  born 
of  Scotch  parents,  in  the  year  1851.  Eight  years  afterwards  she  and  her  sister 
removed  to  San  Francisco,  and  for  a  time  resided  near  Oakland.  Her  first 
acquaintance  with  Spiritualism  was  the  cause  of  bitter  antagonism  thereto,  but 
finally  her  attitude  was  changed  as  she  came  under  the  influence  of  the  spirit 
world  and  received  messages  from  her  mother  and  Thomas  Starr  King,  which 
latter  spirit  gave  her  "numerous  directions  about  development,"  concerning 
which  she  says,  "Thank  goodness,  I  have  followed  to  the  letter."  She  became 
clairvoyant,  a  trance  medium,  clairaudient,  spoke  in  foreign  languages  and 
ultimately  developed  her  remarkable  phase  of  healing  mediumship. 

Her  narrative  is  interspersed  with  numerous  records  of  cases  which  have 
come  under  her  treatment,  some  of  which  are  quite  remarkable  and  are  ap- 
parently well  attested,  also  a  number  of  letters  from  patients  speaking  in  the 
highest  terms  of  the  doctor's  work  and  personal  generosity. 

That  portion  of  the  book  beyond  the  pages  devoted  to  the  life  and  works 
of  the  authoress  contains  a  great  deal  of  interesting  matter  culled  from  a  wide 
variety  of  sources.  The  materials  thus  presented  relate  to  such  matters  as 
"Controls  and  Mediums,"  "Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?"  a  "Galaxy  of 
Modern  Spiritualists,"  "Incidents  in  the  Life  of  D.  D.  Home,"  "Was  Lincoln 
a  Spiritualist?"  some  of  the  experiences  of  "Florence  Marryatt,"  "A  Record  of 
Authentic  Apparitions,"  "Swedenborg's  Spiritual  Development,"  "Who  Are 
the  Christians?"  "The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes,"  "What  is  Relig- 
ion?" and  other  matters,  the  whole  making  a  bulky  volume  of  over  500  large 
pages.    The  key-note  of  the  volume  is  the  curing  of  the  sick  by  spirit  power. 

The  book  is  illustrated  by  half-tone  portraits  of  the  doctor  and  of  her 
mother,  and  two  illustrations,  each  depicting  an  ulcer  and  a  blister,  which  do 
not  strike  one  as  being  either  necessary  to  the  book  or  ornamental  to  its  pages. 

A  variety  of  scattered  materials  from  various  sources  is  gathered  together 
within  these  pages  which  will  make  them  useful  and  entertaining  to  many  who 
could  not  otherwise  obtain  access  to  the  information  imparted.  The  work  is 
very  handsomely  printed,  and  the  binder  has  done  his  share  with  admirable 
taste. 

Dr.  Beighle  is  well  and  widely  known  in  San  Francisco  and  in  the  State 
of  California,  and  her  friends  will  welcome  this  volume  from  her  hands,  for 
the  kindly  spirit  and  genial  disposition  of  its  writer  breathes  through  every 
page.  The  general  reader  who  is  unacquainted  with  the  doctor  will  also  be 
more  than  interested  to  read  what  she  presents  so  pleasingly  for  consideration. 
— U.  T.  P. 


h 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THREE  OF  MANY  LETTERS  FROM  FRIENDS 
ON  READING  THE  BOOK  OF  KNOWLEDGE,  OR  PSYCHIC  FACTS. 


Watsonville,  CaL,  March  12th,  1904. 

"I  must  say  it  does  you  great  credit.  It  is  very  interesting — both  the 
personal  part  and  historical  part  devoted  to  the  facts  and  experiences  of 
Spiritualism.  These  can  not  be  cotitro'verted  by  any  one.  The  evidence  is 
too  authoritative  and  too  overwhelming  and  from  the  highest  and  best  of 
scientific  and  religious  sources." 

Mary  O.  Stanton, 
Author  of  "The  Encyclopedia  of  Face  and  Form  Reading." 


National  Spiritualists*  Association  for  the  United  States  and  Canada, 

No.  600  Penna  Ave.,  S.  E. 
Washington,  D.  C,  March  12th,  1904. 

"We  consider  it  an  important  addition   to  the   literature  of  Spiritualism, 
and  a  strong  testimony  of  the  value  and  wonders  of  mediumship." 

Mary  T.  Longley,  Secretary. 
Author  of  "Outside  the  Gates"  and  other  books. 


The  A.  Van  der  Naillen  School  of  Engineering  {Incorporated.) 
113  Fulton  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
San  Francisco,  CaL,  March  16,  1904. 

"I  shall  carefully  peruse  it,  and  tell  you  my  frank  opinion  about  it.  From 
a  casual  glance  at  its  contents  I  should  judge  the  book  to  be  a  valuable  addition 
to  Spiritualistic  literature." 

A.  Van  der  Naillen, 
Author  of  "On  the  Heights  of  the  Himalay"  and  "In  the  Sanctuary." 


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MRS.    JKAN    CRAIB. 
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DR.    NELLIE   BEIGHLE. 


Book  of  Knowledge 


PSYCHIC    FACTS 


BY 

Dr.  NELLIE  BEIGHLE 

ILLVSTRATED 


PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR 
BY 

THE  ALLIANCE  PUBLISHING  CO. 


y  COPYRIC 


Copyright,  1903,  by 
Dr.  NELLIE   BEIGHLE 


UNIVERSITE  FACULTE  DE  MEDECINE 

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Copyright,  1903,  by 
Dr.  NELLIE   BEIGHLE 


PREFACE. 

So  many  of  my  dear  friends  and  beloved  patients  have  asked 
me  why  I  did  not  write  a  book  of  my  Hfe,  giving  to  the  public,  in 
that  way,  the  many  peculiar  tests  both  in  healing  and  messages 
which  have  been  given  to  me  for  others,  through  the  divine  power 
which  has  controlled  me  for  the  last  twenty-one  years;  and  so 
to-night,  the  14th  of  May,  1902,  I  seat  myself  at  my  desk  for  that 
purpose,  hoping  that  my  experiences  may  prove  a  help  to  many 
dear  ones,  and  that  they,  too,  may  have  the  power  to  unlock  the 
door  between  the  mortal  and  the  immortal  and  let  their  beloved 
ones  enter  their  homes.  The  secret  of  the  spiritual  life  is  being 
whispered  to-day.  To-morrow  the  voices  will  be  clearer.  By 
and  by  it  will  be  heard  all  around  the  world.  And  so,  dear  reader, 
I  only  hope  that  you  too  shall  hear  the  voices  of  your  loved  ones, 
and  that  they  may  prove  a  blessing  to  you,  as  they  have  been  to 
me ;  and  to  the  beloved  readers  who  know  me,  I  want  you  all  to 
know  this,  on  earth  or  in  heaven,  I  am,  and  always  will  be,  a 
friend  and  a  woman  of  the  people. 

Dr.  Nellie  Beighle. 


^^ 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    Early  Life  and  Development i 

II.  Record   of   Some   Wonderful    Cures       -       .       -       -  i8 

III.  Controls   and    Mediums       ----..-  84 

IV.  Who    are    These    Spiritualists? in 

V.    Galaxy  of  Modern  Spiritualists 137 

VI.  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  D.  D.  Home       -       -       -       -  147 

VII.  Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?       ------  i6g 

VIII.    Florence  Marryat 192 

IX.  A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions       -       -       .       -  325 

X.  Report  on  Spiritualism  of  the  Committee  of  the  London 

Dialectical  Society           -        - 165 

XI.    Spiritualism  in  North  America 309 

XII.    George    Fox    and    the    Friends 347 

XIII.  The  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley       -  369 

XIV.  A  Chapter  of  Poets 393 

XV.  Swedenborg's  Spiritual  Development       -       -       -       -  410 

XVI.    A  Message  from    Lord    Bacon 416 

XVII.  Gleams  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament  -       -       -  421 

XVIII.  Our  Yesterdays  and  Our  To-Morrows       .       -       -       -  440 

XIX.    Faith   and    Power 448 

XX.    Who    are   the   Christians? 470 

XXI.    A    High   Life 488 

XXII.    Harmful  Fears 501 

XXIII.  The  Man  Who  looks  out  of  Your  Eyes       -       -       -  510 

XXIV.  What  is    Religion? 530 


BOOK  OF  KNOWLEDGE:   PSYCHIC  FACTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
EARLY    LIFE    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 

I  was  born  in  Lower  Canada,  September  7,  1851,  of  Scotch 
parents,  who  belonged  to  the  old  Scotch  Covenanters,  in  which 
faith  we,  or  at  least  my  brother  and  sisters,  were  raised,  as  my 
precious  mother  passed  to  the  higher  life  when  I  was  but  two 
years  old.  My  sister  Jessie  brought  me  to  California  and  to  San 
Francisco  in  1859.  ^^  ^Y  father  had  married  again,  we  all,  ex- 
cept one  sister  who  remained  with  father,  came  here,  where  a 
sister  and  two  brothers  had  preceded  us.  There  were  twelve 
children  in  our  family — ten  girls  and  two  boys,  I  being  the  seventh 
daughter.  I  believe  there  is  an  old  tradition  about  the  seventh 
daughter  having  healing  powers,  but  I  think,  if  such  is  the  case, 
the  unseen  healing  was  back  of  it  then  as  now.  My  dear  sister 
Jessie,  God  bless  her,  who  is  next  to  the  oldest,  guided  me  until 
I  budded  into  womanhood;  and  then  after  teaching  school  for 
a  short  time,  I  married  George  W.  Beighle.  Two  daughters 
and  one  son  were  given  to  us.  Alice,  our  eldest  daughter,  is 
now  the  happy  wife  of  one  of  the  best  of  men,  Samuel 
Taylor.  Two  little  ones  were  given  to  them,  Helen  Jean  and 
Wilson  Beighle  Taylor,  both  very  bright  children  of  whom 
we  are  very  proud.  Edna,  our  second  daughter,  is  the  happy 
wife  of  Willard  R.  Wright,  and  two  children  were  given  them, 
lola  Wright  and  Billy,  our  little  baby. 

The  Holy  Powers  blessed  me  when  mates  were  selected  for 
my  darling  girls,  as  neither  of  their  husbands  uses  liquor  or 
tobacco ;  and  when  I  pass  on  to  the  higher  life,  which  I  will  do  in 
the  near  future,  I  go  contentedly,  well  knowing  that  my  good 
sons  will  continue  to  be  good  to  my  darling  girls. 

Henry,  our  beloved  son,  began  his  life  work  in  the  higher  life, 


a  Book  of  Knowledge. 

but  in  these  later  years  has  become  my  Angel  Messenger  Boy, 
and  how  trustworthy  he  is  many  can  testify. 

I  was  very  bitter  against  Spiritualism  before  my  eyes  were 
opened  to  the  heavenly  light.  When  our  children  were  very 
young  we  moved  from  San  Francisco  to  Oakland,  or  between 
Oakland  and  Berkeley,  thinking  our  little  ones  would  have  better 
air  and  more  freedom.  So  we  bought  a  place  and  started  a  gar- 
den, and  in  that  garden  I  began  my  development.  No  wonder 
I  love  flowers  so,  for  in  my  trying  to  cultivate  them  the  Holy 
Powers  cultivated  me.  The  first  indications  that  came  to  me  were 
tiny  raps.  I  was  alone  with  my  two  little  ones,  as  my  husband 
left  early  and  came  home  late;  so,  indeed,  I  was  very  lonely  at 
times,  and  when  I  heard  those  tiny  raps  I  thought  it  was  an  in- 
sect in  the  wood,  as  I  heard  my  sisters  in  the  country  speak  of  a 
woodtick,  which  made  a  peculiar  noise;  so  when  speaking  to  a 
neighbor  of  mine,  Mrs.  McComb,  the  wife  of  General  John 
McComb,  who  was  well  known  here,  I  said,  *'  Don't  you  know, 
Mrs.  McComb,  I  hear  such  funny  noises.  It  must  be  the  woodtick 
in  the  wood.  Go  where  I  may  through  the  house  I  hear  it."  She 
laughingly  replied,  "  Why,  Mrs.  Beighle,  those  are  spirit  raps.  I 
always  thought  you  were  a  medium."  I  was  amazed  to  think  that 
she  even  suggested  such  a  thing.  Some  time  later  Mrs.  McComb, 
hearing  me  sing  once  in  a  while,  conceived  the  idea  that  I  must 
have  my  voice  cultivated  for  concert  work.  She  insisted  on  my 
going  with  her  to  Mrs.  Melville-Snyder,  the  well-known  singing 
teacher  in  the  city,  to  have  her  test  my  voice.  We  started  one  day 
to  San  Francisco  to  see  the  teacher,  but  when  we  got  there  she 
was  not  at  home.  So  Mrs.  McComb  asked  me  if  I  would  go  with 
her  to  Mrs.  Breede's  seance  for  ladies  only.  I  said  yes,  I  would 
go  with  her.  I  remember  we  had  to  climb  quite  a  number  of 
stairs.  While  doing  so  I  looked  around,  fearing  some  one  whom 
I  knew  might  see  me.  When  we  entered  the  parlors  about  twenty 
or  more  ladies  were  ahead  of  us,  so  we  seated  ourselves  as  far 
from  the  medium  as  we  possibly  could.  I  shall  never  forget  how  I 
watched  Mrs.  Breede,  the  medium.  Her  power  came  to  her  in 
telegraphic  messages;  that  is,  sounds  came  on  the  table,  as  I 
learned  later  on,  when  I  knew  her  better,  like  telegraphing,  and 
she  read  the  messages  in  that  way.    After  giving  a  few  tests  to 


Early  Life  and  Development,  3 

some  ladies  near  her,  she  began  to  act  so  strangely  and  said  she 
was  controlled  by  a  Scotchwoman  who  wanted  her  daughter 
Helen.  A  strange  sensation  passed  over  me.  I  knew  my  dear 
mother  was  Scotch  and  I  knew  my  name  was  Helen,  but  I  did  not 
speak.  Mrs.  Breede  said,  "  Poor  woman,  your  daughter  does  not 
want  to  recognize  you,  does  she?  Well,  I  will  pick  her  out  for 
you."  She  immediately  pointed  her  finger  at  me  and  said, 
"  Madam,  your  name  is  Helen,  and  this  dear  Spirit  is  your 
mother."  I  blurted  out,  "  Yes."  She  began  to  write,  and  when 
through  told  me  to  come  and  get  the  message.  I  did  so.  These 
were  the  words  that  were  written.  "  My  dear  child  Helen,  I 
have  been  trying  so  hard  to  make  you  understand  I  was  with  you. 
My  child  you  will  meet  with  great  success.  Go  right  ahead,  my 
dear  child.  Your  mother,  Jean  Craib."  I  was  dumbfounded. 
The  medium  then  turned  to  Mrs.  McComb  and  cautioned  her  in 
regard  to  signing  some  business  papers,  which  later  on  she  did 
sign,  and  sustained  a  loss,  just  as  the  medium  said  she  would. 
She  said  her  sister  Mary  was  there  giving  her  the  information. 
Mrs.  McComb  and  I  started  home  again.  I  did  not  know  how 
she  felt,  but  I  did  know  that  I  was  told  I  would  be  successful,  and 
my  voice — well,  it  was  going  to  make  me  successful,  and  I  was 
overjoyed.  A  few  days  later,  I  called  to  see  a  lady  not  very  far 
from  us,  and  when  I  entered  she  and  her  daughter  were  seated 
at  a  table.  Mrs.  Pinkham,  the  lady,  said  to  me,  "  Come,  Mrs. 
Beighle,  and  put  your  hands  on  the  table  and  see  if  we  can  bring 
the  spirits.  My  daughter  and  I  have  been  trying  to  get  raps."  I 
sat  down  laughingly,  making  some  foolish  remark,  when  in  a  few 
moments  my  arm  began  to  shake  so  violently  that  I  became 
frightened.  Mrs.  Pinkham,  who  I  found  out  afterwards  was  very 
interested  in  Spiritualism,  and  had  had  quite  a  little  experience 
herself,  said  to  me,  "  Mrs.  Beighle,  I  think  some  one  wants  to 
write."  She  hurriedly  got  me  paper  and  pencil,  and  my  hand, 
becoming  a  little  steadier,  wrote  these  words :  "  I  am  your  mother. 
Do  not  be  afraid.  I  have  come  to  you  for  your  good  and  that  of 
others,  and  to  prove  to  you  that  I  am  your  mother,  I  will  tell  you 
what  you  are  going  to  do.  You  will  leave  your  home  and  go  back 
to  the  city  the  ist  of  November."  That  was  two  months  later, 
and,  as  we  owned  our  home,  I  could  not  see  how  it  could  happen. 


4  Book  of  Knowledge. 

But  it  did  happen,  much  to  my  surprise.  Then  she  went  on  to 
tell  me  different  things,  some  in  regard  to  family  matters,  which  I 
did  not  know,  being  the  youngest,  and  which  proved  to  be  correct. 
After  the  influence  left  me  I  felt  weak,  but  so  strangely  happy. 
I  knew  I  did  not,  nor  could  not,  make  my  arm  tremble  so,  and  I 
knew  my  family  reverenced  my  mother,  and  I  knew  it  was  she 
who  controlled  my  hand,  for  the  feeling  of  peace  that  took  pos- 
session of  me  made  me  realize  it ;  and  from  that  day  to  this  she 
has  ever  been  my  Blessed  Sacred  Mother,  and  through  her  the 
communication  between  the  two  worlds  has  been  proven  not  only 
to  me,  but  to  thousands  upon  thousands,  a  blessed  fact,  a  truth, 
and  if  the  whole  world  should  cry  it  down,  I  would  stand  alone 
and  cry  it  from  the  housetops.  After  the  messages  written 
through  my  hand  from  my  Sacred  Mother,  I  seemed  to  be  lifted 
out  of  something,  and  from  that  time  until  success  crowned  me,  I 
realized  the  correct  meaning  of  the  old  proverb,  "  No  Cross,  No 
Crown ;  "  for  surely  my  crosses  were  many  and  so  heavy  at  times 
as  to  be  almost  unbearable.  A  great  many  still  on  earth  will  never 
know  until  they  reach  the  higher  existence  what  trials,  through 
them,  have  come  to  me,  when  a  kind  word  would  have  done  so 
much.  And  right  here  I  want  to  say  I  have  forgiven  them  all 
long  ago.  Well,  after  I  found  that  my  darling  mother,  whom  I 
had  so  often  longed  for,  was  not  dead  but  living  and  would  be 
my  guide  and  companion,  no  wonder  I  became  successful,  with 
her  noble  Angel  presence  at  the  helm.  Through  her  so  many 
were  permitted  to  come  to  me.  My  sister  Sarah,  who  had  also 
passed  away  when  I  was  quite  young,  who  while  on  earth  com- 
posed poetry,  and,  as  I  know  now,  was  controlled,  came  to  me  soon 
after  my  dear  mother  did,  but  giving  the  name  of  Sunshine. 
The  first  time  she  came  was  late  one  evening.  My  two  babies 
had  been  tucked  away  in  their  little  beds,  and  I  sat  there  dream- 
ing of  a  change  which  had  opened  a  door  to  a  new  life,  when  I 
felt  a  presence  and  was  compelled  to  take  a  pencil  and  write. 
These  words  were  written : 

"  I  know  the  night  is  weary 
For  you  to  sit  alone, 
To  watch  and  wait  his  coming, 
But  never  mind,  dear  one. 


Early  Life  and  Development.  5 

This  way  of  living  cannot  last 
Forever,  that  is  sure; 
But  put  your  trust  in  Him  above. 
And  he  will  find  the  cure. 

How  I  wish  your  life  were  happier  cast, 
But  never  mind,  we'll  see 
How  bright  will  be  the  future. 
My  darling  Nell,  for  thee." 

(Signed)     Sunshine. 

And  from  that  on  until  now,  I  had  the  power  to  write  many 
things.  Well,  in  November  we  moved  to  San  Francisco,  and 
when  my  sister  and  friends  found  out  I  had  become  a  Spirit- 
ualist the  report  was  that  I  was  going  insane.  Then  clairvoy- 
ance came  to  me.  On  a  white  wall,  letters  would  be  written  in 
black,  giving  messages  to  any  one  who  was  in  the  room  with  me. 
If  the  walls  were  dark,  the  messages  would  come  either  in  gold 
or  white ;  for  instance,  when  we  returned  to  the  city,  an  old  friend 
of  ours  and  I  took  a  house  together,  she  having  a  husband  and 
two  children  and  I  the  same;  so  we  divided  the  house  and  lived 
very  comfortably.  She,  my  friend,  liked  me  very  much,  but  when 
I  would  tell  her  what  I  could  see  or  write,  she  would  get  very 
nervous.  One  day  Capt.  Cook  called  to  see  me  to  say  good-bye, 
as  he  was  going  to  Colorado  the  next  day,  saying  he  had  just 
got  his  trunk  packed,  when  this  message  was  written  on  the 
white  wall  above  his  head :  "  No,  not  until  the  first  day  of  April 
will  you  leave  here."  That  was  three  weeks  hence.  Capt.  Cook 
said,  "  Impossible,  I  am  just  waiting  for  a  letter  and  will  get  it 
as  soon  as  I  return  to  my  room."  The  letter  he  expected  did  not 
come  until  the  first  day  of  April. 

One  day  my  Sacred  Mother  was  writing  for  me,  when  she 
seemed  to  let  go  of  my  hand  and  another  influence  took  it  and 
began  writing  so  rapidly.  When  I  happened  to  look  up,  just  as 
the  power  was  leaving  me,  I  saw  a  man  standing  before  me  with 
a  star  as  bright  as  diamonds  on  his  forehead,  and  when  I  picked 
up  the  several  sheets  of  paper,  which  had  been  written  on,  it  was 
signed  "  Thomas  Starr  King ;  "  and  I  found  out  later  that  he 


6  Book  of  Knowledge, 

was  the  Unitarian  minister  who  had  died  when  I  was  a  Httle  girl. 
The  writing  gave  minute  directions  about  development ;  what  I 
should  do,  which,  thank  goodness,  I  followed  to  the  letter.  So 
often  when  I  would  see  the  forms  of  the  dear  Angels,  and  writ- 
ings on  the  wall  or  in  mid-air,  I  would  close  my  eyes  and  open 
them  again,  to  see  if  I  imagined  it  at  all.  But  open  or  shut,  the 
writings  were  just  as  clear,  and  I  think  that  is  why  all  my  test 
powers  come  in  prophesy.  Thomas  Starr  King,  when  he  became 
more  familiar  to  me,  wanted  me  to  call  him  "  Father  King,"  and 
ever  since  I  have  addressed  him  by  that  dear  name.  The  loved 
ones  who  came  to  me  never  allowed  me  to  go  anywhere,  as  they 
said  it  interfered  with  my  development;  and  they  wanted  me 
to  demonstrate  this  truth  to  the  people,  and  through  it,  I  would 
be  able  to  brighten  their  lives.  One  day  Father  King  told  me 
there  was  a  medium  who  was  going  to  give  a  seance  for  ladies 
only,  and  he  wanted  me  to  go,  as  he  wished  to  speak  to  me 
through  her.  I  got  the  paper  and  found  that  Mrs.  Ada  Scales 
was  going  to  have  such  a  seance.  So  I  asked  Mrs.  N — ,  the  lady 
who  had  the  house  with  me,  if  she  would  go  with  me.  The  seance 
was  to  be  at  two  o'clock  and  we  went  about  half-past  one;  but 
even  then  the  parlors  were  quite  full.  Mrs.  Scales  came  in  and 
seated  herself.  Very  soon  her  face  changed,  and  she  went  into 
a  trance.  I  asked  the  lady  who  sat  near  me  what  was  the  matter 
with  her.  She  said  she  was  in  a  trance  state.  In  a  moment  she 
wrote  something  across  a  piece  of  paper,  rolled  it  up  and  threw 
it  at  me.  I  opened  it  and  read  the  name  of  Thomas  Starr  King. 
She  immediately  began  speaking,  using  such  beautiful  language, 
and  addressing  the  conversation  to  me.  After  the  medium  ceased 
speaking,  all  who  were  present  complimented  me  on  having  such 

a  guide.    No  one  knew  Mrs.  N and  I  were  going  there,  and 

all  were  strangers  to  us.  Indeed,  I  was  very  happy,  having  cor- 
roborated through  a  strange  medium  what  he  had  already  told 
me.  My  Sacred  Mother  told  me  so  many  times,  if  friends  wanted 
me  to  give  them  any  test,  never  to  sit  with  more  than  one  in  the 
room,  as  they  were  gathering  a  band  sufficiently  strong  to  guard 
and  protect  me,  not  only  from  the  earth  people,  but  those  unde- 
veloped in  the  higher  life.  I  disobeyed  one  night  by  sitting  with 
a  lady  who  could  hear  the  Angels  speak  to  her.    She  was  deaf 


Early  Life  and  Development.  7 

and  partially  dumb.  She  said  that  one  of  her  controls  was  a  mute, 
whom  she  had  known  in  life,  but  that  he  had  told  her  so  many 
untruths  that  she  did  not  like  him.  My  sainted  mother,  knowing 
she  was  coming,  told  me  not  to  sit  at  the  table  with  her,  but  I  did ; 
and  not  being  very  strong,  and  as  my  mother  had  warned  me 
about  my  band  not  being  formed,  he  attached  himself  to  me  and 
for  two  months  he  bothered  me  so.  When  I  would  feel  his  in- 
fluence, I  would  go  out  into  the  open  air.  My  Sacred  Mother 
wrote  through  my  hand  and  said,  "  You  see  what  trouble  your 
disobedience  has  caused  us  and  yourself  as  well."  In  time,  that 
influence  left  me,  and  I  was  once  more  on  the  road  to  develop- 
ment. I  was  told  by  my  dear  Father  King  that  if  I  would  take 
two  slates  and  put  a  pencil  in  between  (that  is,  a  very  small  piece 
of  slate  pencil),  perhaps  I  would  get  slate  writing.  As  that  was 
another  phase  which  I  was  not  familiar  with,  I  was  told  to  go  to 
Mrs.  Francis,  the  slate-writer,  and  they  would  explain  what  they 
meant.  I  went  to  see  Mrs.  Francis,  and  had  an  hour  with  her. 
Her  slate  was  made  of  paper,  and  she  held  it  under  the  table; 
when  she  would  take  the  slate  out,  I  could  see  the  pencil  still 
moving.  The  noise  of  the  pencil  sounded  like  electricity,  but  I 
marvelled  at  the  writing  and  messages,  for  she  did  not  know  who 
I  was.  I  had  never  seen  her  before.  One  message  I  received 
was  from  my  beloved  mother,  the  other  was  from  Father  King, 
giving  me  the  same  directions  on  the  slate  that  he  had  written 
through  my  own  hand.  I  was  told  to  sit  every  day  for  one  hour, 
from  eight  until  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  excepting  Sundays, 
which  I  did  for  one  year  steadily,  punctuality  being  one  of  the 
rules.  I  know  I  did  not  deviate  ten  minutes  in  that  time.  I  had 
a  little  table  (which  I  still  have  in  my  sanctuary),  and  I  placed 
the  slates  on  that;  when  I  was  through  with  it  I  would  cover 
it  over  until  the  next  morning.  I  would  sit  there  every  morning 
for  four  or  five  months,  and  would  not  get  a  scratch  on  it,  not 
even  a  rap.  Sometimes  I  would  hear  a  noise  as  though  the  pencil 
was  writing.  Once  I  got  the  name  of  "  Mother  "  written,  which 
pleased  me  very  much.  When  the  year  was  up,  my  sainted 
mother  told  me  not  to  sit  at  the  table  again  until  she  told  me  to, 
that  she  wanted  me  to  rest.  About  three  weeks  later,  a  friend 
came  to  see  me  and  said  she  was  so  worried  about  business  and 


8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

wanted  me  to  ask  my  dear  mother  what  she  should  do.  I  told 
her  I  could  not,  because  I  was  told  to  rest.  She  then  commenced 
to  tell  me  about  her  financial  troubles,  when  /  began  to  talk  to 
her,  telling  her  what  caused  her  to  be  sick.  She  was  astonished 
at  what  I  told  her.  In  a  few  moments  I  was  compelled  to  place 
my  hand  on  top  of  her  head.  When  I  did  so,  she  said  she  felt 
as  though  a  thousand  needles  were  penetrating  her  brain  and 
body.  When  the  power  came  into  my  hand,  I  spoke  a  peculiar 
language;  I  was  told  afterwards  that  it  was  Egyptian.  From 
that  on,  every  day  my  arm  would  seem  to  be  so  filled  with  power 
that  it  seemed  to  me  that  if  I  could  not  get  my  hand  on  some  one 
who  was  sick  my  arm  would  burst.  One  day  my  dear  mother 
gave  me  the  sign  that  she  wanted  to  write  through  my  hand.  I 
got  the  paper  and  pencil,  and  she  wrote  and  told  me  to  go  right 
over  to  my  brother's  house,  in  Oakland,  that  his  wife  was  very 
sick.  I  went  over  and  found  my  sister-in-law  very  ill.  I  offered 
to  rub  her,  and  when  I  laid  my  hand  on  her  the  power  took  pos- 
session of  my  arm  and  my  voice.  It  frightened  my  sister-in-law, 
but  we  cured  her.  Her  doctor  was  very  mystified  about  it.  A 
day  or  two  later  my  husband  came  in  with  a  sore  throat.  I 
wanted  to  put  my  hand  on  his  throat,  but  as  he  was  so  bitter 
against  Spiritualism  I  was  afraid  he  would  be  angry,  as  he  did 
not  know  I  had  the  power.  Again  the  power  took  possession  of 
the  arm  and  treated  him,  and  it  cured  his  throat.  I  know  he  was 
surprised  from  the  way  he  looked.  A  few  days  later  I  was  told 
to  sit  at  my  table  again.  After  I  had  sat  every  morning  for  a 
week,  an  hour  a  day,  a  voice  spoke  in  my  ear,  the  voice  of  a  man, 
telling  me  that  he  would  diagnose  all  cases  for  me,  and  that  I 
would  have  to  go  before  the  people  and  heal  them  as  he  would 
direct.  He  told  me  that  in  life  he  was  Dr  Cooper,  Sir  Astley 
Paston  Cooper,  and  he  would  prove  his  work  to  my  satisfaction. 
On  the  Saturday  following  my  husband  told  me  that  some 
friends  of  his  heard  that  I  had  a  wonderful  power  in  my  arm, 
and  they  advised  him  to  let  me  use  it.  So  he  told  me  he  would 
not  interfere  with  me  on  one  condition.  The  bookkeeper  who  was 
in  the  store  had  been  sick  for  two  years  or  more,  and  no  doctor 
had  been  able  to  tell  what  his  disease  was.  Now,  if  this  power 
could  tell  what  his  trouble  was  and  cure  him,  he  would  not  object 


Early  Life  and  Development,  9 

to  my  using  it.  The  "  voice  "  spoke  in  my  ear  and  said,  "  Take 
him  at  his  word."  I  told  Mr.  Beighle  to  bring  the  gentleman 
and  I  would  see  what  we  could  do.  The  next  day  my  husband 
brought  Mr.  T.  to  our  rooms,  and  the  "  voice  "  spoke  in  my  ear, 
telling  me  what  the  trouble  was,  how  long  he  had  had  it,  and 
how  it  began.  In  a  very  short  time  we  cured  the  gentleman. 
Later  on  he  married,  and  we  cured  his  wife;  four  or  five  years 
ago  he  brought  his  fourteen  year  old  daughter  to  me  and  we 
cured  her. 

It  all  seemed  so  strange  to  me.  The  people  began  to  hear 
about  me,  and  shortly  after  we  cured  Mr.  T.,  the  bookkeeper,  a 
gentleman  called  to  see  me  one  Sunday  morning  and  asked  me  if 
I  would  go  and  see  his  wife.  He  said  four  doctors  had  given 
her  up  to  die.  I  went  with  him  to  his  home,  and  into  his  wife's 
room.  I  will  never  forget  it — I  had  on  a  tight  waist,  and  when 
I  went  to  the  bedside  of  the  lady,  the  "  power  "  took  hold  of  me, 
and  I  began  to  speak  that  foreign  language  again,  and  in  less 
than  a  minute  I  was  out  of  my  tight  waist,  bending  over  the, 
woman.  I  will  not  enter  into  details,  but  enough  to  know  the 
power  over  me  cured  her. 

From  that  time  on,  I  began  my  work  before  the  public,  heal- 
ing the  sick,  and  preaching  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  life 
beyond. 

One  of  the  ladies  who  came  to  me  was  a  Mrs.  Kirby,  who 
was  English,  and  a  literary  woman.  She  had  written  quite  a 
number  of  books.  She  asked  me  who  controlled  me  in  my  heal- 
ing. I  told  her  about  my  first  hearing  the  **  voice,"  and  being  told 
that  it  was  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  the  English  surgeon,  but  that  I 
would  give  anything  if  I  only  knew  it  was  he.  She  said  she  had 
known  him  well  in  London.  I  told  her  if  she  did,  to  ask  him 
any  question,  and  if  he  answered  me  correctly,  that  I  would  never 
doubt  again.  He  did  answer  every  question,  to  her  surprise  and 
to  my  gratification.  Dr.  Cooper,  my  beloved  teacher,  told  me 
that  the  healers  that  surrounded  me  were  all  Egyptians,  and 
there  were  many  continuously  joining  my  band;  that  he  diag- 
nosed my  cases,  and  the  healers  did  the  curing.  The  first  three 
years  of  my  practise,  I  treated  only  ladies  and  children,  because 
two  or  three  men  who  came  under  the  treatment  after  I  first 
started  thought  that  their  wealth  allowed  them  liberties. 


lo  Book  of  Knowledge. 

So  I  vowed  I  never  would  even  show  the  power  to  a  man ;  but 
after  we  had  made  so  many  cures  and  my  practise  was  so  large, 
one  of  the  society  ladies  came  and  begged  of  me  to  treat  her 
husband.  I  handed  her  my  card  which  read,  "  women  and  chil- 
dren only."  She  said  she  knew  that,  but  pleaded  with  me  to 
break  the  rule  and  take  her  husband ;  I  told  her  I  could  not  do  it. 
That  night  she  came  to  my  home  with  her  husband,  and  asked 
me  just  to  tell  her  what  his  disease  was.  Well,  dear  Dr.  Cooper 
told  me  he  had  two  ulcers  in  his  stomach,  and  several  other  things 
about  him,  which  impressed  both  of  them  as  wonderful.  Again 
the  lady  pleaded  with  me  to  treat  him.  Dr.  Cooper  said  to  me, 
"  Take  him,  but  if  you  do  you  must  treat  him  on  the  table,  the 
same  as  you  would  a  woman.  Henceforth,  one  sex  shall  be  the 
same  as  another."  We  cured  the  gentleman,  and  he  and  his  dear 
wife  are  among  my  dear  friends  to-day. 

My  dear  friends  and  readers,  perhaps  you  may  think  that  my 
life  ran  smoothly,  with  such  a  God-given  power.  I  realized  before 
a  great  while  what  the  passage  in  the  New  Testament  meant, 
*•'  Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul,"  also,  "  That 
the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  shall  be  revealed."  St.  Luke  II — 35. 
How  many  times  did  I  pray  that  I  might  be  taken  out  of  it,  but 
Sacred  Mother  and  Holy  Doctor  Cooper,  with  many  others,  sur- 
rounded me,  and  I  would  see  clairvoyantly  so  many  forget-me- 
nots  floating  through  the  room.  Twenty-three  years  ago  the 
people  were  not  as  enlightened  as  they  are  to-day.  To  say  you 
were  a  believer  in  Spiritualism  was  enough  to  condemn  you, 
and  I  met  skepticism  on  all  sides.  My  own  family  were  skeptical, 
my  husband  was  skeptical,  and  the  people  with  whom  I  came  in 
contact  were  skeptical.  Sometimes,  in  my  despair,  I  wondered 
what  sin  I  had  committed  that  I  was  made  to  go  through  all 
that  was  put  before  me.  Then  the  dear,  patient  voice  of  Holy 
Dr.  Cooper  would  say  to  me,  "You  are  going  through  a  fiery 
furnace,  but  you  are  coming  out  good  metal."  Many  years  since 
I  have  had  my  great  practise,  and  we  have  proved  our  work, 
and  the  "  intelligence  "  that  surrounds  me.  I  thanked  the  Crea- 
tor and  the  angel  loved  ones  that  I  was  permitted  to  be  their 
instrument.  Now,  when  I  say  to  my  dear  patients  and  friends 
that  I  have  lived  hundreds  of  years,  I  do  not  mean  it  as  a  Theoso- 


Early  Life  and  Development.  xi 

phist,  but  in  experience.  Years  ago  I  had  so  many  people  come 
into  the  office  and  ask  me  to  take  off  my  shoes,  as  they  heard  I 
had  batteries  in  them.  I  have  gone  to  houses  and  undressed  for 
ladies  to  prove  I  did  not  have  a  battery  around  my  body,  until 
at  last  I  resented  this,  and  had  my  white  office  gowns  made 
with  an  open  sleeve,  showing  just  how  far  the  power  controlled 
my  arm,  just  an  inch  above  the  elbow.  I  cannot  enter  into  details 
in  regard  to  the  way  some  of  the  people  acted  with  me.  They 
would  look  at  me  as  if  to  see  what  kind  of  an  animal  I  was,  and 
so  many  times  I  felt  as  though  I  could  not  come  in  contact 
with  them,  but  thank  the  God-power,  for  many  years  I  have 
gained  the  mastery  over  the  people,  and  proved  to  them  that  the 
spark  of  God  is  in  every  man  and  woman,  and  that  it  only  takes 
a  kind  word  to  fan  it  into  a  flame.  I  had  a  wonderful  lesson 
taught  me,  which,  if  I  needed  any  more  "  fiery  furnace,"  brought 
me  out  "  good  metal,"  because  it  taught  me,  through  my  beloved 
teacher,  to  be  charitable.  About  fifteen  years  ago  I  had  my  office 
in  the  Flood  Building,  and  I  boarded  in  the  Northern  part  of  the 
city  so  I  could  get  better  air.  The  family  I  boarded  with  con- 
sisted of  a  gentleman  and  his  wife  and  neice.  I  had  been  in 
the  family  about  two  months,  when  I  began  to  have  a  power  over 
me,  so  that  I  knew  everything,  seemingly,  that  was  taking  place, 
and  what  had  taken  place  in  the  past;  not  only  did  I  have  that 
over  me  for  the  family,  but  for  everyone  whose  presence  I  came 
into  the  same  power  would  come  to  me.  I  began  to  think  that 
there  were  no  good  people.  One  day  a  lady  came  into  the  office, 
and  she  told  me  something  that  happened,  and  later  in  the  day 
a  gentleman  came  in  and  told  me  the  same  thing.  Instantly  the 
power  was  over  me,  and  I  remarked  to  the  gentleman,  "  I  would 
give  a  good  deal  to  see  a  good  woman  or  man,  and  one  I  could 
have  confidence  in."  He  said,  "  Don't  you  have  confidence  in 
me,  Dr.  Beighle?  "  I  told  him  "  No,"  I  did  until  then,  but  that 
the  God-power  had  given  me  a  power  for  the  last  month  or  so  to 
see  the  people  as  they  were,  and  told  him  what  I  saw.  Now,  I 
had  no  more  right  to  speak  to  him  than  I  would  to  the  greatest 
stranger,  and  I  told  him  so.  He  said,  "  Doctor,  I  would  rather 
lose  anything  on  earth  than  your  confidence."  When  I  left  the 
office,  I  was  so  tired  and  I  felt  so  badly  about  speaking  up  to 


a  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  gentleman  that  when  I  got  home  I  threw  myself  in  my 
lounging  chair  and  begged  Dr.  Cooper  to  have  that  power  taken 
from  me,  or  to  lessen  it.  In  a  few  moments  these  verses  were 
given  to  me,  and  from  that  day  to  this  I  have  had  more  sympathy 
for  the  people,  more  charity,  well  knowing  that  circumstances 
often  place  them  in  positions  that  the  soul  revolts  against.  I  have 
learned  again  to  thank  the  God-power  for  the  lesson. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  verses  above  referred  to: 

TIRED. 

I'm  tired  of  gleaning  when  fain  I  would  reap, 
I'm  tired  of  smiling  when  fain  I  would  weep, 
I'm  tired  of  all  the  lonely  hours  that  creep ; 
So  tired. 

I'm  tired  of  building  idols  of  clay. 
Of  watching  hope's  sweet  visions  fade  away, 
Of  learning  bitter  lessons  day  by  day; 
So  tired. 

I'm  tired  of  trusting  but  to  be  deceived, 
Of  doubting  when  'twould  be  better  to  believe, 
Of  failure  when  so  much  should  be  achieved; 
'■■■-■  So  tired. 

And  yet  I'm  waiting  day  by  day. 
For  the  loved  ones  to  call  me  o'er  the  way, 
And  I  wonder  much  at  their  long  delay, 
For  I  am  still  so  tired. 

Rest,  weary  mortal,  child  of  earth, 
Turn  thy  sadness  into  mirth, 

Years  will  come  and  go  e'er  there  comes  a  new  birth, 
But  then  you  will  not  be  tired. 

While  I  had  the  writing  power  (that  is,  before  I  became  a 
healer),  when  the  dear  mother  wanted  me  to  write,  she  would 


Early  Life  and  Development,  13 

make  me  feel  as  though  cold  water  was  running  down  my  back, 
and  I  would  get  pencil  and  paper;  and  then  I  would  receive 
messages  and  instructions  in  that  manner.  One  day  I  was  influ- 
enced to  take  the  pencil,  when  I  seemingly  beCame  blind,  and 
still  my  eyes  were  open.  Quite  a  message  was  written,  part  of 
it  in  German  and  part  in  English.     When  it  was  finished,  the 

name  of  "  Doretta  "was  signed  to  it.    Mrs.  N ,  my  dear  old 

friend,  was  with  me  at  the  time,  but  she  did  not  recognize  the 
name  or  the  message.  When  her  husband  came  in,  she  asked 
him  if  there  was  anything  the  matter  with  his  mother's  eyes 
before  she  died,  and  what  was  her  given  name.  He  looked  sur- 
prised, and  said,  "  My  mother  was  blind  for  five  years,  and  her 

name  was   Doretta."     Mrs.   N handed  him   the   message, 

much  to  his  amazement.  He  recognized  it  as  coming  from  his 
mother.     Another  evening,  while  sitting  in  the  room,  talking 

with  Mrs.  N ,  I  saw  such  a  flock  of  sheep  coming  toward  me, 

and  they  seemed  so  real.  When  I  asked  my  mother  what  it 
meant,  she  said,  "  My  dear  child,  in  the  near  future  people  will 
come  to  you  for  assistance,  in  droves  as  you  see  those  sheep." 
I  did  not  have  healing  power  then,  nor  did  I  expect  to  have  it, 
but  the  people  did  come,  later. 

Father  King  (Thomas  Starr  King)  told  me  that  I  would  have 
to  submit  to  being  entranced,  so  that  they  could  the  better  de- 
velop me.    He  wished  me  to  form  a  circle  of  four  or  five,  and  said 

we  were  to  meet  twice  a  week.    Mrs.  N ,  her  husband,  and 

Mr.  Weise  formed  the  circle  with  me.  I  found  that  Mr.  Weise 
knew  considerable  about  the  spiritual  laws,  and  he  was  a  great 
help  to  me. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  Father  King  entranced  me. 
:!  began  to  feel  as  though  I  was  so  large  (I  weighed  only  ninety- 
four  pounds  at  the  time)  ;  he  soon  overpowered  the  brain,  and  I 
was  told  iafterwards  that  it  was  wonderful  to  hear  the  language 
he  used  and  the  instruction  he  gave.  Father  King  said  he  wanted 
us  to  sit  for  a  few  months,  so  that  he  could  get  me  in  a  condition 
that  the  power  could  influence  me  to  do  the  work  for  which  they 
were  preparing  me.  I  asked  him  if  he  would  tell  me  what  kind 
of  public  mediumship  I  was  going  to  have.  He  said  they  were 
not  yet  ready  to  tell  me  anything  about  it,  for  if  they  should  tell 


14  Book  of  Knowledge. 

me  that  would  interfere  with  their  work,  that  is,  I  would  be  con- 
stantly dwelling  upon  it,  and  they  could  not  do  so  well.  One 
night  Father  King  said  that  I  was  going  to  be  controlled  very 
soon  by  a  little  girl,  who  would  prove  to  be  a  wonderful  mes- 
senger, and  that  she  was  part  Indian  and  part  English.  Some 
time  later,  I  was  entranced  by  the  little  girl  Father  King  told  me 
about.  She  gave  her  name  as  Tellula,  and  indeed  she  was  a  won- 
derful messenger,  and  always  truthful.  Those  who  were  priv- 
ileged to  hear  her,  and  to  have  her  get  messages  for  them 
were  delighted  with  her,  and  she  convinced  many  people  of 
the  life  beyond.  She  is  with  me  now  a  great  deal,  but  she 
does  not  entrance  me  now,  but  she  speaks  in  her  independent 
voice. 

Some  years  later  my  old  friend,  Mrs.  N ,  came  to  spend 

the  evening  with  me.    I  was  then  before  the  public  as  a  healer. 

Mrs.  N 's  first  husband  had  passed  out  of  her  life,  and  she 

was  married  again  to  a  mining  man.    Mr.  D ,  her  husband, 

was  away  from  the  city,  attending  to  his  mining  work,  a  great 
deal.  On  this  evening  Mrs.  D asked  me  if  Tellula  ever  con- 
trolled me  now.    I  said  that  I  had  not  heard  from  her  for  a  long 

time.     Mrs.  D said,  "  I  wish  she  would  come  to-night.    Oh, 

Nella,  wasn't  she  a  wonderful  messenger?  I  miss  her  so  much 
when  I  want  to  find  out  anything."     We  sat  there  talking  for 

about  half  an  hour ;  then  Mrs.  D said,  "  Nella,  Tellula  is  here ; 

I  feel  her  on  my  shoulders."    Sure  enough,  she  was  with  us,  and 

controlled  me.   She  told  Mrs.  D to  get  her  clothes  ready,  for 

she  would  go  to  Mexico  in  a  little  while ;  that  she  was  going  to 

receive  a  telegram  and  a  letter  from  Mr.  D ,  saying  he  had 

accepted  an  offer  to  go  to  Mexico ;  and  that  she  was  going,  too ; 

she  also  told  her  several  other  things.    When  Mrs.  D told 

me  what  she  said  about  going  away,  I  asked  her  if  she  had  heard 
anything  about  it.  She  said,  "  No,  but  did  not  Tellula  just  tell 
me  ?  "  I  said,  "  Surely  you  will  not  get  anything  until  you  know 
positively."  She  answered  that  of  course  she  was  going  out  the 
next  day  to  buy  her  clothes.  I  advised  her  not  to  do  so  until 
she  heard  from  her  husband,  but  she  said  that  Tellula  was  always 
right.  Next  day  she  went  out  and  made  her  purchases,  and 
started  to  make  her  thin  waists  for  warm  weather.     In  three 


Early  Life  and  Development.  15 

days  she  received  a  telegram  from  her  husband,  saying  he  was 
coming  down,  and  she  would  understand  his  reason  for  doing 
so  when  she  received  his  letter.    A  week  or  two  passed,  and  Mrs. 

D came  into  the  office  with  her  husband,  who  was  on  his 

way  to  Mexico.  She  looked  very  sorrowful,  and  said,  **  Nella,  I 
cannot  go  with  my  husband,  for  the  Company  will  not  allow  the 
wives  to  go."  I  said,  "  I  told  you  not  to  buy  a  lot  of  clothes 
that  you  cannot  wear  here."  That  night  I  took  dinner  and  spent 
the  evening  with  them.     On  that  occasion  Tellula  came  again 

and  told  Mrs.  D not  to  feel  so  disappointed;  that  she  was 

going  to  Mexico  in  three  weeks  and  that  she  would  stay  a  long 
time.  She  did  go  in  three  weeks,  and  remained  three  years. 
Tellula  was  right  again. 

At  one  time  my  daughter  Alice  was  receiving  attentions 
from  a  very  excellent  young  man,  whom  we  all  liked  very  much. 
One  night  Tellula  was  requested  to  come  for  some  friends  who 
were  anxious  about  a  matter  that  she  could  attend  to  for  them. 
Dear  Alice  sat  there  with  us ;  Tellula  told  her  she  was  not  going 
to  marry  that  young  man.  Alice  said,  indeed  she  would ;  Tellula 
answered,  "  The  man  you  are  going  to  marry  is  a  foreigner, 
and  he  will  not  be  in  this  state  for  a  year."  Alice  did  not  marry 
the  young  man,  but  she  married  a  Canadian  who  came  to  San 
Francisco  a  year  later.  All  Tellula  said  about  him  was  correct, 
for  he  has  been  a  faithful  husband  to  Alice,  and  a  dear  son  to  me. 
If  I  were  to  write  all  the  wonderful  things  I  know  about  Tellula 
it  would  fill  a  book. 

When  I  speak  of  the  God  Power,  it  means  many  powers, — 
many  messengers,  but  God  at  the  head  of  all.  A  university  has 
its  president;  every  factory  has  its  foreman;  all  corporations 
have  a  head  man ;  even  the  busy  bees  have  a  leader,  their  queen. 
So  is  God  at  the  head  of  all  things,  and  the  angel  loved  ones, 
our  messengers,  are  in  cooperation  with  Him.  I  could  not  exist 
without  the  proof  of  the  life  beyond  and  their  loving  care.  Even 
to-day,  while  I  am  out  on  a  vacation  of  only  six  weeks,  I  long  for 
the  time  to  come  when  I  shall  be  again  in  my  office,  surrounded 
by  the  heavenly  influences  and  encouraging  words.  Of  course 
I  have  them  with  me  now,  but  not  as  close  as  I  do  when  I  am  in 
my  office. 


1 6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

When  my  second  husband  met  with  the  accident  which  ulti- 
mately took  his  spirit  from  the  body,  I  thought  again  that  I  was 
deserted,  but  it  proved  to  be  a  blessing  in  disguise.  I  had  been 
married  to  him  only  two  months  when  he  met  with  the  accident, 
and  he  passed  out  of  the  body  nearly  two  years  later.  I  will  here 
give  a  part  of  the  Memorial  Service,  which  was  taken  down  in 
shorthand,  to  send  it  to  his  friends  in  the  East : 


MEMORIAL  SERVICE. 

John  Franklin  Trippe,  devoted  husband  of  Dr.  Nellie 
Beighle  Trippe,  of  this  city,  passed  to  the  higher  life  February 
27th. 

Preceding  the  last  hours  of  his  life,  he  lay  six  hours  in  a  coma 
state  and  none  present  expected  him  to  rally,  and  the  Angel 
Powers  that  have  guided  Dr.  Beighle  in  her  noble  work  for  the 
past  twenty  years  gave  her  directions  for  the  funeral — not  calling 
it  funeral,  but  reception — naming  the  undertakers,  and  asking 
that  flowers  be  strewn  on  all  sides  and  lilies  line  both  sides  of  the 
hall ;  and  promised  her,  if  she  would  bear  with  her  sorrow  and  not 
grieve  for  her  husband,  he  should  return  and  be  with  her  at  all 
times  out  of  her  office  hours,  the  same  as  he  had  been  in  life. 
The  doctor  told  of  all  this  to  those  about  her,  and,  to  our  great 
surprise,  Mr.  Trippe  resumed  consciousness,  and  with  such  spir- 
itual brightness,  and  called,  "  My  Helen,  my  sweetheart,  my  wife ! 
I  have  come  again.  I  have  been  away  and  must  go  again,  but  I 
will  come  back  in  a  day  or  two  to  be  with  you  always,"  which 
corroborated  the  message  given  the  doctor.  The  doctor  followed 
the  directions  given  in  every  particular,  the  casket  being  of  white 
embossed  velvet,  and  the  numerous  beautiful  floral  oflFerings  sent 
in  memory  of  the  good  man  and  in  love  of  the  doctor  will  long 
be  remembered,  as  well  as  the  cheering  and  beautifully  spoken 
words  given  through  the  mediumship  of  Mrs.  R.  S.  Lillie,  and 
the  closing  song  sung  by  Mr.  Lillie,  entitled  "  Something  Sweet 
to  Think  Of,"  cheered  many  a  sorrowing  heart  present.  Thus 
another  soul  was  called  home. 


Early  Life  and  Development,  17 

SOMETHING   SWEET   TO   THINK   OF. 

Poetry  and  Music  by  John  P.  Ordway,  M.D. 

Something  sweet  to  think  of  in  this  world  of  care, 
Tho'  dear  friends  have  left  us,  they  bright  spirits  are; 
Something  sweet  to  dream  of,  hark !  the  angels  say, 
"  Call  them  not  back  again,  they  are  with  you  every  day." 
With  you  in  the  twilight,  with  you  night  and  morn, 
With  you  in  the  sunlight,  with  you  in  the  storm; 
With  you  ever,  evermore  hear  the  angels  say, 
"  Call  them  not  back  again,  they  are  with  you  every  day." 

CHORUS. 

Something  sweet  to  think  of  in  this  world  of  care, 
Tho'  dear  friends  have  left  us,  they  bright  spirits  are; 
Something  sweet  to  dream  of,  hark !  the  angels  say, 
"  Call  them  not  back  again,  they  are  with  you  every  day." 

Something  sweet  to  think  of,  a  dear  husband's  love, 

'Twas  a  priceless  jewel  round  my  heart  he  wove. 

How  I  long  to  see  him,  but  the  angels  say, 

"  Call  him  not  back  again,  he  is  with  you  every  day." 

Blessed,  sainted  husband,  I  can  see  you  now. 

As  in  days  of  sorrow,  when  you  kissed  my  brow; 

'Tis  my  sweetest,  dearest  joy  when  the  angels  say, 

"  Call  him  not  back  again,  he  is  with  you  every  day." 

CHORUS. 

Something  sweet  to  think  of,  loved  ones  gone  before. 

Bright  and  joyous  spirits  with  us  evermore. 

They  are  singing  sweetly  with  the  angels  lay, 

"  Call  us  not  back  again,  we  are  with  you  every  day." 

Wander  not  in  darkness,  for  we  send  you  light 

That  will  make  you  happy  through  both  day  and  night. 

'Tis  our  blessing  on  you  all,  and  with  angels  say, 

"  Call  us  not  back  again,  we  are  with  you  every  day." 


CHAPTER  IL 
RECORD  OF  SOME  WONDERFUL  CURES. 

When  I  was  in  the  Flood  Building  a  lady  came  into  the  office 
to  see  me ;  when  I  came  out  of  the  treating-room  I  stepped  up 
to  her,  and  as  I  did  so  my  hand  was  taken  by  the  power  and 
placed  at  her  throat.  She  seemed  so  pleased  and  said,  "  Yes, 
yes,  it  is  my  throat.  I  was  told  you  could  cure  me  if  I  could 
only  find  you."  I  asked  her  if  she  knew  it  was  a  goiter.  She 
said,  "  Yes,  but  you  can  cure  it."  Poor  woman,  she  was 
doomed.  The  power  told  me  that  she  would  choke  to  death 
as  it  grew  inside.  Poor  woman,  she  fainted  when  I  would  not 
take  her.  When  hopeless  cases  come  in  I  tell  you.  friends,  it 
made  me  feel  sorry  and  heartsick. 

One  morning  I  was  on  my  way  down  to  the  office,  and,  as 
I  had  a  very  sick  patient  whom  I  had  to  go  to  the  house  to  treat, 
I  started  earlier  from  my  home  to  do  so.  The  dear  Dr.  Cooper 
came  to  me  while  I  was  on  the  car  and  said,  "  You  had  better 
go  to  your  office  now,  and  treat  the  sick  man  when  you  leave 
your  office  to-night."  I  told  him  I  did  not  want  to  do  that  as 
I  had  an  engagement  and  would  rather  go  and  treat  the  patient 
then.  I  never  remembered  another  thing  till  I  was  going  up 
on  the  elevator  to  my  office.  The  doctor  threw  a  power  over 
me  and  took  me  there.  When  I  came  to  myself  I  was  in  the 
elevator  and  a  gentleman  spoke  to  me,  saying,  "  Is  this  my  old 
pupil,  Helen  Craib  ?  "  I  recognized  my  old  teacher,  Mr.  Pel- 
ton.  The  secret  was  that  Mr.  Pelton  was  without  funds,  and 
I  had  to  help  him.  I  had  not  seen  him  since  I  went  to  school 
to  him. 

I  had  been  taken  out  of  my  body  a  great  many  times,  but  I 
was  usually  taken  to  the  higher  life.  Indeed,  I  became  very 
familiar  with  the  dear  ones  beyond;  but  one  morning  I  went 
into  my  office  and  a  gentleman  was  waiting  for  me.  He  looked 
so  anxious  that  I  asked  him  if  he  were  sick.     He  said,  "  No, 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures,  19 

but  were  you  sick  last  night  ? "  I  answered,  "  No,  I  felt  fine." 
He  was  a  very  intelligent  man,  holding  a  fine  position,  and  had 
never  been  a  patient.  He  said  to  me,  "  Well,  doctor,  I  thought 
you  were  dead.  Last  night  I  went  to  bed,  and  about  10:30  I 
got  up  to  get  a  drink  of  water;  as  I  returned  to  our  room  I 
saw  y®u  in  one  of  your  white  treating  gowns  beckoning  to  me. 
I  was  so  startled  that  when  I  went  into  my  room  I  said  to 
my  wife,  '  Dr.  Beighle  is  either  dead  or  very  ill.'  Neither  my 
wife  nor  I  could  sleep,  and  as  soon  as  I  got  my  coffee  instead  of 
going  to  my  office  I  came  here."  (He  knew  nothing  of  spirit- 
ualism.) I  tried  to  pass  it  off  as  a  joke,  but  he  would  not  have 
it  that  way,  and  begged  me  to  take  good  care  of  myself,  fear- 
ing I  was  going  to  be  ill.  He  had  not  left  the  office  an  hour 
before  one  of  the  professors  from  the  Academy  of  Science, 
whom  I  knew  very  well,  came  in  and  said,  "  Were  you  ill  last 
night  ?  "  I  laughingly  said,  *'  Did  you  see  me  with  my  white 
treating  gown  on,  with  a  halo  over  my  head,  beckoning  you  to 
come  to  me  ?  "  '  He  looked  so  puzzled,  saying,  "  Yes,  I  did  see 
you  that  way,  and  I  have  not  slept  at  all.  I  thought  surely  you 
were  dead  or  ill."  He  had  hardly  got  through  speaking  when 
a  very  lovely  woman  came  in  and  asked  me  the  same  questions. 
I  had  appeared  to  those  three  people  the  same  night,  and  the 
three  were  all  intelligent  people  and  strangers  to  each  other. 
It  pleased  me  very  much,  the  God  Power  sending  them  to  me 
to  tell  me. 

I  was  treating  a  young  lady  who  had  been  very  ill,  and  had 
been  treated  for  consumption.  She  asked  me  one  day  if  I 
would  object  to  her  aunt  coming  with  her.  I  answered,  "  No, 
indeed,  bring  any  one  you  choose,  and  take  them  right  into 
your  treating  room."  A  few  days  later,  when  I  went  into  her 
booth,  she  introduced  me  to  her  aunt.  I  started  to  treat  Miss 
Fanchor  when  I  turned  to  look  at  her  aunt.  I  was  amused  to 
see  a  look  of  ridicule  on  her  face.  The  Holy  Doctor  told  me 
to  show  her  the  power.  As  soon  as  my  hand  touched  her  head 
the  power  took  hold  of  her,  and  she  was  compelled  to  tell  me 
all  she  had  said  about  me.  She  cried  so  bitterly  when  the  power 
left  her.  I  told  her  it  would  teach  her  a  lesson  not  to  speak 
ill  of  any  one  she  did  not  know. 


20  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Another  time  an  old  patient  came  into  the  office,  bringing 
with  him  two  friends,  a  lady  and  her  husband.  I  was  very  busy, 
as  usual,  and  did  not  have  time  to  diagnose  their  cases  that  day, 
but  Mr.  B.  asked  me  if  I  would  take  the  time  to  just  show  them 
the  power.  My  office  was  full  of  patients  who  were  waiting 
for  me.  The  lady  looked  horrified  when  she  saw  me  in  my 
white  treating  gown,  and  my  arm  bare  to  the  shoulder.  The 
power  spoke  to  me  about  it.  Well,  I  started  to  put  my  hand 
on  her  husband's  head,  but  was  quickly  taken  over  to  her.  Al- 
most before  you  could  speak  the  power  put  her  in  a  cataleptic 
state,  she  being  a  subject.  As  soon  as  I  took  it  off  of  her  they 
both  hurriedly  left  the  office,  much  to  the  amusement  of  the 
patients  who  witnessed  it. 

I  had  a  lady  from  Honolulu  under  treatment,  and  she,  too, 
asked  permission  to  bring  a  friend  to  the  office  to  see  the  power, 
remarking  that  all  her  friends  were  so  skeptical.  A  few  days 
later  I  was  out  in  the  reception  room  when  she  came  in  with  a 
lady.  As  they  entered  the  door  I  saw  three  angel  forms  enter 
with  them.  When  I  went  into  the  booth  the  friend  did  not 
go  in  with  my  patient,  but  remained  in  the  office.  I  said  to 
my  patient,  "  I  see  your  friend  is  a  medium."  She  looked  at 
me  and  laughed,  saying,  "  No,  indeed,  she  is  not."  I  said 
mentally  to  the  power,  "  Go  out  and  control  that  woman." 
When  I  went  out  of  the  booth  I  stepped  into  the  office  and  said 
to  the  lady,  "  Madam,  I  see  you  are  a  medium.  Why  don't  you 
let  your  guides  control  you?"  Poor  woman,  she  had  to  ac- 
knowledge it,  telling  me  that  they  had  controlled  her  for  years, 
and  she  had  four  different  phases  of  mediumship.  I  called  to 
my  patient  and  asked  if  she  heard  what  her  friend  said.  Well — 
she  was  dumbfounded. 

The  attendant  who  was  in  the  office  came  to  me  one  day  and 
said  that  two  of  her  friends  were  down  from  her  home,  and  that 
one  was  a  doctor's  wife.  She  had  been  telling  them  about  the 
power  the  night  before,  and  had  asked  them  to  come  to  the 
office,  and  they  had  just  come  in.  She  asked  me  if  I  would 
kindly  show  them.  I  stepped  into  the  office  and  was  introduced 
to  them.  The  doctor's  wife  was  a  tall,  handsome  blonde,  beauti- 
fully gowned.     I  put  my  hand  on  her  head,  when  the  power  took 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  21 

hold  of  her.  She  pulled  her  bonnet  off,  threw  it  on  the  floor, 
saying,  "  She  will  be  down  on  to-night's  boat ;  she  did  not  get 
the  telegram."  I  had  sent  three  telegrams  to  Rio  Vista  for 
my  little  daughter  to  come  home ;  she  had  been  visiting  her 
aunt.  Not  getting  a  reply  to  the  telegrams,  I  was  fearful  some- 
thing had  happened,  and  perhaps  Dr.  Cooper  did  not  want  to 
tell  me  but  he  told  me  through  this  woman.  When  the  lady 
came  to  herself  she  trembled  from  head  to  foot.  The  attendant, 
who  was  a  doctor's  daughter,  said,  "  My  friend  here  remarked, 
when  I  was  telling  her  last  night  about  the  wonderful  things 
that  occurred,  that  she  would  like  to  see  the  color  of  any  one's 
hair  who  could  control  her.    She  saw  it. 

A  lady  came  into  the  office  one  day  and  asked  to  see  me,  say- 
ing she  had  just  come  from  Cincinnati.  When  I  spoke  to  her 
she  said  she  had  heard  of  our  power  in  Cincinnati,  but  had 
failed  to  get  my  address  before  she  left.  On  the  train  she  over- 
heard two  gentlemen,  who  sat  in  the  seat  in  front  of  her,  speak- 
ing about  me.  One  was  explaining  to  the  other  our  methods 
as  far  as  he  knew  them.  She  said  she  leaned  over  and  asked 
this  gentleman  if  he  would  give  her  my  address.  He  immedi- 
ately drew  out  a  card  and  wrote  my  name  on  it.  When  she 
handed  it  to  me  I  read  the  name  of  one  of  our  leading  lawyers, 
who  had  been  a  patient,  and  one  whom  I  esteemed  very  highly 
for  his  honesty  and  integrity.  I  told  Mrs.  Avery,  for  such  was 
her  name,  that  if  she  could  come  back  at  four  p.m.  I  would  be 
able  to  see  her  and  would  give  her  thirty  minutes.  She  came  at 
the  hour  appointed.  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  private  detective 
was  in  the  office  at  the  time,  and  one  or  two  others.  I  sat 
down  in  the  main  office  to  speak  with  her.  She  began  by  saying 
that  at  one  time  she  had  been  quite  an  invalid,  but  had  studied 
Christian  Science  and  had  become  very  healthy.  Poor  woman, 
she  was  then  full  of  disease.  However,  after  speaking  a  few 
minutes,  I  asked  her  what  she  thought  of  Spiritualism.  She 
said  that  she  thought  Spiritualism  was  the  seed,  but  Christian 
Science  was  the  fruit.  I  mentally  said  to  the  power,  "  Prove 
that  to  her."  I  then  asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  see  our 
power.  She  said  she  was  anxious  to,  after  hearing  so  much 
about  it.     I  placed  the  hand  on  her  head,  and  in  an  instant  she 


22  Book  of  Knowledge. 

was  under  control ;  not  taking  the  brain,  but  one  of  the  healers 
talked  in  the  Egyptian  language,  and  controlled  her  own  hand, 
pointing  out  the  diseased  places.  Then  she  knelt  down  and 
prayed.  She  was  a  very  slender  little  woman,  and  with  tears 
streaming  from  her  eyes,  and  praying  so  earnestly,  she  made 
quite  a  picture.  The  detective  said  he  would  not  have  missed 
seeing  her  for  a  thousand  dollars.  When  the  power  left  her  I 
asked  her  which  was  it,  the  seed  or  the  fruit?  She  said  in  all 
her  experience  she  had  never  had  anything  like  that  happen, 
and  begged  to  be  permitted  to  come  to  me  again.  I  told  her 
she  could,  the  next  day  at  the  same  hour.  The  detective  asked 
permission  to  come  also.  The  power  took  possession  of  her 
again,  which  pleased  her  very  much.  I  then  told  her  what  to 
do  to  develop.  When  she  went  back  to  Cincinnati  she  wrote 
me,  begging  me  to  promise  to  come  and  visit  her. 

I  had  under  treatment  a  whole  family.  Mr.  L ,  the  hus- 
band, said  to  me  one  day,  "  My  wife  tells  me  you  tell  her  some 
very  funny  things."  I  laughingly  replied,  "  I  never  tell  funny 
things — they  may  seem  strange,  but  not  funny."  He  said, 
"  Well,  doctor,  /  want  to  know  something ;  I  have  some  prop- 
erty I  want  to  sell."  I  said,  "  That  is  enough ;  you  want  our 
power  to  find  out  about  it  for  you,  do  you?  Well,  I  do  not 
want  to  know  anything  from  you.  We  will  ask  Holy  Dr. 
Cooper  if  he  will  ascertain  where  it  is  and  what  it  is,  and  let  me 
know  when  you  come  again."  The  next  time  he  came  to  the 
office  he  was  eager  to  know  if  we  had  heard  anything.  I  said, 
"  Not  yet,  but  I  will  ask."  Dear  Dr.  Cooper  said,  "  The  prop- 
erty he  was  asking  about  is  down  south,  and  consists  of  lots. 

He  has  owned  it  three  years."     Mr.  L spoke  up,  and  said, 

yes,  it  was  lots,  but  he  had  bought  them  seven  years  ago.  Dear 
Doctor  said,  "  He  bought  them  seven  years  ago  on  the  install- 
ment plan,  but  did  not  finish  paying  for  them  till  three  years 
ago ;  and  tell  the  gentleman  to  hold  on  to  them,  as  property  all 
over  the  State  is  rising  in  value.  There  is  going  to  be  an  in- 
flux of  people  in  the  State  which  will  cause  it  to  be  so."  Now, 
that  was  several  months  before  the  Christian  Endeavorers 
came,  and  ever  since  that  time  there  has  been  a  continual  influx 
of  people  in  our  city  and  State.  And  dear  Doctor  was  right 
about  the  installment  plan,  too. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  23 

Another  patient,  Mrs.  John  F.  Snow,  was  in  a  bad  condition 
when  she  came  to  me.  The  dear  Dr.  Cooper  told  her  the 
power  would  cure  her,  and  that  she  would  go  to  the  Eastern 
States  three  times,  which  she  did  after  recovering  her  health. 
She  went  on  a  visit  with  her  husband,  and  made  two  trips  later. 
A  friend  of  hers,  who  was  under  treatment  several  years  later, 
brought  me  a  picture  from  Mrs.  Snow  of  her  sister,  telling  me 
that  Mrs.  Snow  had  received  a  letter  from  her  sister  that 
morning,  saying  she  was  not  very  well  and  would  I  please  her 
by  asking  Dr.  Cooper  if  he  would  see  what  ailed  her,  and  tell 
her  what  to  take.  I  took  the  picture  in  my  hand,  and  instantly 
an  influence  came  over  me,  as  though  my  heart  was  going  to 
stop  beating.  Hearing  a  scream  from  my  dear  secretary,  I 
looked  at  my  fingers  and  the  nails  were  black,  and  they  said 
my  mouth  was,  too.  In  a  few  seconds  the  influence  left  me,  and 
I  handed  the  picture  back  to  the  patient,  saying,  "  Tell  Mrs. 
Snow  that  her  sister  has  just  died  from  heart  disease."  When 
the  news  came  of  her  death  she  had  died  at  the  time  I  held 
that  picture. 

It  is  really  wonderful  how  many  powers  can  manifest  through 
me.  When  the  power  is  over  me  Holy  Dr.  Cooper  always 
stands  by  me,  giving  me  the  returns  from  the  different  angel 
messengers  (that  is,  while  I  am  in  the  office),  and  he  always 
diagnoses  the  cases  for  me.  I  remember  one  time  I  had  a  very 
critical  case  at  the  Occidental  Hotel  from  Honolulu.  One 
morning,  in  attending  the  case,  a  strange  voice  spoke  to  me. 
I  was  panic-stricken,  and  mentally  called  and  begged  for  Dr. 
Cooper.  In  a  short  time  I  heard  the  blessed  voice  of  Dr. 
Cooper  saying,  "  I  will  remain  with  her  to-day,  and  will  explain 
to  her  to-night  why  I  must  leave  her  for  two  days.  Do  not  be 
offended,  as  you  know  she  is  so  used  to  my  voice."  I  felt  so 
relieved.  Really  it  made  me  so  faint.  That  night  the  Holy 
Doctor  said  he  was  compelled  to  leave  me  in  the  care  of  Dr. 
Harvey — who  discovered  the  circulation  of  the  blood — but 
would  return  as  soon  as  possible,  and  to  accept  every  word  Dr. 
Harvey  would  give  me,  which  I  did ;  and  since  that  Dr.  Harvey 
is  with  us  many  times. 

A  physician  came  into  the  office  to  see  us  about  his  wife.    It 


24  Book  of  Knowledge. 

seems  she  was  spitting  up  a  fungus  growth  from  the  stomach, 
which  seemed  to  puzzle  every  physician.  It  was  so  wonderful 
to  me  to  hear  the  angel  Doctors  in  consultation.  I  repeated 
to  the  physician  what  I  heard,  and  he  was  more  wonder-stricken 
than  I  was.  The  angel  physicians  said  there  was  but  one  case 
on  record ;  that  the  patient  would  live  for  several  months,  which 
she  did.  The  earth  doctor  said  our  information  would  start 
him  thinking  about  another  Hfe. 

I  was  treating  several  electricians.  One  of  the  gentlemen 
asked  permission  to  bring  another  electrician  just  to  see  the 
electric  power.  The  next  day  he  brought  him,  and  when  I 
showed  him  the  hand  with  the  power  I  did  not  put  my  hand  on 
his  head,  only  took  hold  of  his  hand;  in  a  few  seconds,  when  he 
began  to  look  so  queer,  I  asked  him  if  it  made  him  sick.  He 
said  "  No,  but  my  head  is  getting  as  large  as  a  barrel."  I  knew 
that  he  had  been  speaking  against  me,  and  the  power  was 
teaching  him  a  lesson.  He  had  to  go  out  into  the  office  and 
stand  by  an  open  window.  My  patient  turned  to  me  and  said, 
"  I  guess  he  will  keep  his  mouth  shut  now."  I  did  not  ask  any 
questions,  but  I  knew  he  would,  too. 

I  hope  I  will  not  tire  my  dear  readers  by  telling  of  so  many 
prophesies,  but  it  will  please  my  dear  patients  to  read  them. 
Were  I  to  write  all  the  remarkable  prophesies  and  messages 
given  I  would  have  to  write  several  books. 

I  want  to  write  about  some  of  our  beloved  messengers  who 
are  famous  for  finding  anything  that  is  lost.  I  was  treating  the 
nephew  of  a  very  prominent  lady,  and  she  delighted  in  bringing 
him  to  the  office.  One  day  I  was  showing  her  a  ring,  and  she 
spoke  up,  saying,  "  Oh,  Doctor,  I  want  to  ask  you  something. 
I  had  two  diamond  rings,  one  with  three  diamonds,  the  other  a 
solitaire.  I  lost  them  about  two  months  ago ;  I  have  searched 
for  them  everywhere."  I  said  I  would  call  the  messengers  and 
ask  them  about  it.  In  a  few  moments  I  was  told  to  tell  her  she 
would  find  them  in  her  bedroom.  She  did  not  come  again  till 
Wednesday,  when  she  held  up  her  hand  with  the  rings.  I  ex- 
claimed, "  You  did  find  them?  "  She  said,  "  Yes,  Doctor,  and 
I  am  so  awed,  and  I  will  tell  you.  When  I  went  home  I  told 
my  sister  what  you  said,  and  we  both  went  up  into  my  bedroom 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures,  25 

and  locked  the  door  and  searched  everywhere,  even  the  mat- 
tresses, but  did  not  find  them  (that  was  Monday).  To-day  I  got 
ready  to  bring  my  nephew  over,  and  was  hurrying  so  as  not  to 
miss  the  train.  I  left  my  nephew  on  the  steps  and  ran  up  to 
my  bedroom.  Right  by  my  bureau,  on  the  wall,  was  hanging 
a  tiny  basket  and  back  of  it  was  a  photo  of  a  friend.  I  grabbed 
the  picture  and  began  to  wonder  if  I  were  losing  my  senses 
when  something  took  hold  of  my  arm  and  my  fingers  went  into 
the  little  basket  and  picked  out  my  rings.  I  was  dumbfounded. 
I  ran  downstairs  and  showed  them  to  my  sister.  We  both  right 
there  and  then  thanked  the  God-power,  for  we  knew  our  boy 
would  get  well."  Now,  had  this  lady  come  over  and  told  me 
she  did  not  find  the  rings,  I  never  would  have  called  on  the 
messengers  again ;  but  they  proved  their  work  to  me  as  well  as 
to  her.  Another  little  lady  was  telling  me  that  she  had  lost  a 
very  valuable  pin,  and  had  accused  her  Chinese  boy  of  taking 
it.  The  messenger  said,  "  Tell  her  to  look  in  the  bottom  drawer 
of  her  bureau,  that  is,  between  the  drawer  and  the  bureau,  and 
she  will  find  it  stuck  into  a  lace  collar."  She  did  find  it  exactly 
as  the  messenger  told  me. 

I  have  had  so  much  proof  of  the  angel  power,  coming  through 
so  many  different  channels,  that  this  world,  while  beautiful, 
seems  so  limited  compared  to  that  of  the  life  beyond.  I  have 
lived  more  in  that  life  than  I  have  in  this  since  the  God-power 
has  been  with  me.  Of  course  every  one  whose  work  is  before 
the  public,  his  or  her  private  life  is  in  the  hands  of  the  public 
as  well  as  their  professional  work.  I  want  to  say  to  my  dear 
readers  that  I  do  not  think  that  psychics  should  ever  speculate 
or  do  anything  outside  of  their  mediumship.  I  know  whenever 
I  have  done  so  it  has  been  against  the  wishes  of  my  God-power. 
I  have  been  told  by  the  power  that  I  must  not  speculate  in  any- 
thing; but  sometimes  I  would,  and  it  would  always  be  a  failure. 
I  have  never  realized  a  dollar  from  property,  speculation,  or  any 
human  being,  only  what  I  have  earned  through  my  God-given 
power;  and  I  have  taken  care  of  many  a  family  outside  of  my 
own  during  the  last  twenty  years  since  I  have  had  a  practise. 
Indeed,  many  times  I  have  taken  from  my  dear  children  to  give 
to  those  whom  I  thought  needed  it,  and  my  beloved  children 


26  Book  oj  Knowledge, 

were  always  willing  I  should.  I  have  had  those  whom  I  have 
helped  (I  do  not  mean  with  a  few  dollars,  but  with  many,  many 
of  them)  turn  around  and  abuse  me  to  others,  but  "  some- 
where "  they  will  make  amends. 

Our  power  of  diagnosis  is  certainly  very  wonderful,  for  I  hear 
every  word  about  the  patient ;  just  the  same,  dear  reader,  as  you 
hear  through  the  telephone,  only  mine  comes  from  the  life  be- 
yond and  yours  comes  from  the  earth.  Charley  Farnham,  a 
pure  soul,  whom  I  knew  when  I  was  a  little  girl,  is  the  one  who 
is  "  central "  for  my  telephone,  and  no  power  can  speak  to  me 
except  Holy  Doctor  Cooper,  unless  he  calls  me,  not  even  my 
Sacred  Mother,  So  you  can  all  see  how  wonderfully  I  am  pro- 
tected. I  have  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  healers  with  me  daily, 
many  times  the  power  changing  several  times  for  the  one 
treatment.  I  am  so  used  to  the  changing  that  I  do  not  notice 
it  as  the  patients  do.  Every  ninety-eight  out  of  a  hundred  arc 
what  we  call  blistered  for  want  of  a  better  name,  for  it  is  not  at 
all  like  a  bHster,  but  the  worst  corruption  comes  out  of  the 
body ;  one  wonders  where  it  all  comes  from.  Some  people  who 
don't  know  say  I  scratch  them.  How  foolish  they  would  be  to 
come  and  pay  me  the  price  they  do!  Why  not  scratch  them- 
selves? The  fact  is,  there  is  not  a  human  being,  outside  of  our 
power,  that  can  produce  these  sores.  There  never  were  two 
blisters  alike  on  any  patient,  nor  were  there  any  two  treatments 
alike.  Some  people  say,  and  doctors,  too,  that  I  put  croton  oil 
on  my  hand  and  fingers.  If  it  will  produce  such  terrible  look- 
ing blisters  and  ulcers,  what  would  it  do  to  my  hand  ?  My  hand 
is  just  as  soft  as  any  lady's  who  never  did  any  work,  and  I  wear 
5  J^-sized  gloves.  I  run  my  hand  in  all  the  poisonous  sores.  God 
and  the  angels  gave  me  the  power,  and  He  alone  can  take  care 
of  me.  When  any  one  undertakes  to  explain  it  outside  of  a 
God-power  they  show  their  ignorance.  I  knew  Dr.  Pardee, 
ex-Mayor  of  Oakland,  very  well  before'  my  marriage,  and  visited 
his  first  wife.  A  friend  of  his  was  under  treatment,  and  Dr. 
Pardee,  not  remembering  my  married  name,  did  not  know  it 
was  I  who  was  the  healer.  He  told  his  friend  that  he  was 
being  fooled,  that  of  course  I  had  croton  oil  on  my  fingers.  I 
told  my  patient  to  take  my  book,  called  the  "  Little  Doctor," 


CHARLEY   FARNHAM. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  27 

written  by  J.  J.  Owen,  and  show  him  my  picture.  When  the 
doctor  recognized  the  picture  he  took  back  everything  he  had 
said  about  me,  and  he  and  his  family  went  under  treatment  prior 
to  my  going  away.  One  day  in  the  office  I  called  him  into  a 
booth  to  see  a  gentleman  treated  and  blistered.  I  asked  Dr. 
Pardee  if  I  should  have  croton  oil  on  my  fingers  would  I  injure 
the  gentleman  if  I  put  them  in  his  eyes.  He  looked  aghast, 
saying,  "  You  would  blind  him."  I  immediately  put  my  fingers 
in  his  eyes  saying,  "  Well,  I  cannot  have  croton  oil  on  my 
fingers  as  you  thought."  He  turned  and  looked  at  me  and  said, 
"  Did  that  man  tell  you  everything  I  said  about  you  ?  "  I  told 
him,  "  Yes,  every  word." 

I  am  going  to  give  some  engravings  of  the  ulcers,  also 
blisters,  and  will  explain  them  to  you,  dear  readers. 

So  many  people,  even  intelligent  people,  call  our  power  "  mas-' 
sage,"  and  a  rub  or  rubbing,  but  the  soul  people,  I  don't  care 
what  religion  they  adhere  to,  realize  the  God-power  and  hold 
it  in  hoHness.  I  used  to  feel  like  resenting  it  when  they  would 
come  in  and  say  they  wanted  a  massage  or  a  rub.  Well,  the 
Holy  Doctor  would  tell  me  never  to  mind,  but  consider  the 
source.  They  did  not  know  any  better.  Does  massage  enter 
the  inner  system  and  bring  out  such  loathsome  corruption? 
Does  rubbing  do  it?  Just  think,  my  dear  friends,  those  who 
have  had  the  privilege  of  being  treated,  so  many  come  to  the 
office  in  lovely  attire,  but  I  do  not  often  see  their  clothes ;  I  do 
see  and  read  their  souls,  and  see  the  corruption  of  the  body.  I 
want  to  show  you,  dear  readers,  how  correct  the  power  is  in 
diagnosing  by  hair.  A  gentleman  came  into  the  office  one  day 
and  handed  me  a  letter,  remarking,  "  Now,  I  do  not  know  where 
this  comes  from,  or  who  wrote  it,  but  was  told  to  hand  it  to 
you."  I  saw  that  it  was  a  sealed  letter,  and  told  him  if  there 
was  hair  inside  he  must  open  it,  and  I  would  turn  my  back  and 
he  would  place  it  in  my  hand,  as  I  had  to  touch  the  hair  to  get 
the  examination.  He  did  so,  when  the  Holy  Doctor  told  me 
that  it  belonged  to  a  gentleman,  and  he  was  in  another  country 
from  ours,  and  if  he  was  not  dead  then  he  would  be  in  a  very 
short  time.  The  gentleman  said  the  letter  contained  a  five 
dollar  bill  and  wished  me  to  take  it,  which  I  did  not,  as  I  never 


28  ^  Book  of  Knowledge. 

charged  for  examining  hair.  Three  weeks  later  the  gentle- 
man's wife  came  into  the  office.  She  told  me  that  her  sister  in 
Canada  had  sent  the  sealed  letter  to  her,  and  that  morning  she 
had  received  an  answer  to  what  was  told  me,  and  it  was  so  cor- 
rect. She  herself  did  not  know  till  that  morning  that  the  hair 
was  taken  from  the  head  of  an  old  gentleman  friend  who  was 
ill,  and  when  the  information  was  received  by  her  sister  the  man 
was  dead. 

Another  case  which  I  will  tell  you  of  was  this :  I  was  belated 
one  morning  getting  to  the  office,  and  found  a  good  many 
patients  were  waiting  in  their  booths  for  me,  but  my  dear  sec- 
retary said  that  there  was  a  gentleman  waiting  in  the  main  office 
for  me,  and  he  had  been  there  ever  since  the  office  opened.  I 
went  in  to  see  him,  and  he  said  he  had  been  travelling  quite  a 
distance  to  get  me  to  examine  some  hair.  He  was  a  very  in- 
telligent-looking gentleman,  and  looked  like  a  man  of  means. 
He  asked  if  I  would  only  examine  the  hair  then,  so  he  could 
return  home.  I  did  not  wait  to  change  my  clothes  but  took 
him  into  the  examining  room.  As  soon  as  I  touched  the  hair 
Holy  Doctor  said,  "  This  hair  belongs  to  a  woman,  and  she  will 
be  in  this  life  before  many  hours."  I  told  the  gentleman  what 
I  heard,  and  he  said  it  did  belong  to  a  woman,  but  she  was  not 
in  bed — sick.  Doctor  then  said  to  me,  "  They  have  been  giving 
her  four  different  kinds  of  medicine,  but  it  is  not  fit  for  her  to 
take."  The  gentleman  said,  "  Yes,  she  had  four  different 
bottles  of  medicine."  Holy  Doctor  told  me  again  that  she  could 
not  live  in  the  body  but  a  few  hours.  I  asked  the  doctor  what 
relation  she  was  to  this  man,  and  he  said,  "  She  is  his  wife," 
which  was  true.  I  heard  of  the  case  several  months  later 
through  a  relative  of  this  man.  I  was  told  that  when  the  gentle- 
man returned  from  my  office  his  wife  met  him  at  the  door  and 
asked  if  he  had  seen  me.  Before  he  could  say  anything  to  her 
she  expired  in  his  arms.     Again  Holy  Doctor  was  right. 

Several  years  ago  one  of  our  prominent  men  of  this  city 
brought  a  gentleman  to  the  office  to  consult  me  about  his  case. 
He  was  suffering  from  what  is  called  "  The  Printer's  Cramp." 
He  was  some  high  personage  from  Europe.  When  I  examined 
him  the  Holy  Doctor  Cooper  said  it  was  his  liver.    He  disputed 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  29 

♦ 

that  and  said  his  liver  was  all  right.     Mr.  W ,  my  patient, 

said,  "  Dr.  Beighle  gets  her  diagnoses  through  a  spiritual 
power."  He  looked  so  disgusted  and  remarked,  "  There  is  not 
anything  the  matter  with  my  liver,  and  I  do  not  believe  in  such 
stuff.  I  want  my  arm  treated  and  that  is  all."  I  said,  "  Well, 
did  you  ever  investigate  the  subject  of  Spiritualism?  "  He  said, 
"  No,  nor  do  I  want  to."  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  you  ought  to  be  in- 
telligent enough  not  to  pass  an  opinion  on  something  you  know 
nothing  about.  But  if  you  want  your  arm  treated,  I  will, 
through  the  Holy  Power,  treat  you,  but  we  could  not  cure  you 
without  treating  the  cause,  and  that  is  the  liver." 

He  went  under  the  treatment  for  the  arm.  One  day,  two 
weeks  later,  while  treating  him,  he  asked  me  if  I  knew  a  Mr. 

A ,  who  was  in  with  one  of  the  largest  firms  here  and  at 

the  Sandwich  Islands.  I  answered,  "  Yes."  He  said  he  was 
talking  to  him  about  his  arm,  and  that  I  was  helping  him  so 

much.     He  then  remarked  that  Mr.  A thought  so  much  of 

me  and  it  pleased  him  to  hear  him  praise  me  as  he  did,  saying 
now  he  knew  he  would  get  well;  and  he  also  knew  that  Mr. 

W and  his  good  wife  thought  so  much  of  me,  but  he  had 

come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  charmed  them  in  some  way ; 

but  when  he  heard  Mr.  A speak  the  same  way  he  felt  very 

pleased.     I  told  him  to  tell  Mr.  A that  I  would  not  cure  him 

because  he  would  not  let  me  treat  the  cause. 

As  this  gentleman  was  going  to  t'he  Islands  when  he  left 

me,  I  asked  Mr.  W if  he  would  let  me  know  how  he  got 

along,  and  he  said  he  would.     Four  months  later  Mr.  W 

called  at  my  home  one  night  to  tell  me  that  his  friend  had 
returned  from  the  Islands  very  sick  and  had  died  at  the  Palace 
Hotel.  An  autopsy  being  held,  they  found  his  liver  putrid.  His 
liver  being  diseased  and  going  down  in  that  hot  country  just 
finished  his  career  here. 

I  was  treating  a  gentleman  and  his  wife.  The  gentleman 
was  on  the  staff  of  the  Call,  and  they  told  me  about  a  young 
dentist  who  boarded  at  the  same  place  they  did  who  had  been 
dissecting  a  human  body  and  had  poisoned  his  fingers,  the  body 
being  poisoned  in  some  way,  and  it  had  affected  him  in  such  a 
way  that  his  fingers  were  a  sight.     He  wanted  to  know  if  I 


3©  Book  of  Knowledge. 

could  do  anything  for  him.  I  told  him  I  would  ask  Holy  Dr. 
Cooper  if  anything  could  be  done.  If  he  would  come  to  the 
office  I  would  look  into  his  case.  Well,  the  next  day  he  came, 
and  it  was  the  first  and  the  only  time  in  my  life  that  I  was  ever 
afraid  of  handling  any  poisonous  disease.  Dr.  Cooper  said  in  my 
ear,  "  Take  hold  of  his  hand.  What  are  you  afraid  of,  child  ?  " 
I  did  take  hold  of  his  fingers  and  was  told  to  take  the  case. 
Now  remember,  he  was  poisoned  from  dissecting  a  poisoned 
human  body.  Who  would  have  dared  to  handle  such  poison 
without  the  God-power  was  with  them?  I  treated  his  fingers 
for  two  weeks  and  they  showed  signs  of  improvement.  Dr. 
Cooper  told  me  to  have  the  young  man,  at  his  own  room,  put 
his  hand  and  fingers  in  salt  water  night  and  morning.  So  after 
five  or  six  weeks'  treatment,  all  who  saw  the  fingers  were 
amazed  at  the  result.  The  young  man  said  he  thought  the  salt 
water  was  curing  him.  Dr.  Cooper  spoke  to  me  and  said, 
"  This  is  Tuesday ;  tell  the  gentleman  not  to  come  until  Friday 
or  Saturday,  and  tell  him  to  use  the  salt  water  as  he  has  been 
doing."  He  came  Friday,  and  of  all  the  looking  fingers!  I 
asked  him  if  he  had  used  the  salt  water  and  he  said  he  had  used 
it  diligently.  We  cured  that  case.  He  had  been  under  all  the 
best  physicians,  and  one  physician  who  was  here  from  New 
York,  and  who  was  very  noted,  had  given  him  salves  and  good- 
ness knows  what  else  before  I  treated  him.  This  physician  was  so 
astonished  when  he  found  the  young  man  was  cured,  and  asked 
him  if  the  salves  had  done  the  work.  He  said  "  No,"  he  had 
used  them  faithfully  but  without  effect.  Then  he  told  him  about 
me.  The  doctor  scratched  his  head  and  remarked  that  there 
were  some  things  they  didn't  know. 

I  heard  from  the  young  man  three  years  later,  and  he  had 
an  office  and  had  quite  a  practise,  but  /  never  saw  him  after  we 
cured  him. 

Years  ago,  when  President  Garfield  was  shot,  all  the  papers 
said  he  was  getting  better,  and  would  again  take  his  seat  in 
the  White  House.  Doctor  Worsham  called  to  see  me  one  day. 
He  said  something  about  Spiritualism;  he  being  a  skeptic,  I 
was  surprised  to  hear  him  mention  the  subject.  He  asked  if 
the  spirits  said  anything  about  Garfield's  case.     I  said  "  No," 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  31 

I  had  never  asked  them,  but  I  would  right  away,  and  that  I 
wanted  his  opinion  first.  His  answer  was  he  knew  that  Presi- 
dent Garfield  would  get  well;  he  knew  from  reading  about  his 
condition.  Well,  I  asked  my  Sacred  Mother  about  him.  The 
answer  came,  "  He  will  pass  to  the  higher  Hfe  the  latter  part 
of  September."  Dr.  Worsham  laughed  heartily  and  said, 
''  Why,  child.  President  Garfield  will  surely  recover ;  all  the 
physicians  think  so."  He  did  pass  away  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember, just  as  I  was  told. 

Dr.  Worsham  said :  "  I  want  to  buy  some  stock.  Which  is 
the  best  to  buy?"  The  answer  given  to  me  was:  "He  has 
already  bought  his  stock  and  has  it  in  his  pocket,  and  it  will  not 
amount  to  a  row  of  pins."  He  turned  pale  and  remarked: 
"  There  must  be  something  in  it." 

Mr.  Beighle,  my  husband,  had  always  been  opposed  to  Spirit- 
ualism; so  much  so  that  I  would  never  speak  about  it  before 
him.  During  the  city  election  he  came  home  one  night  all 
upset  about  it,  and  asked  me  why  I  did  not  ask  the  spirits  which 
way  it  was  going,  and  that  if  they  knew  anything  they  could 

tell  me.     Next  morning  I  said  to  my  dear  friend,  Mrs.  N , 

who  had  the  house  with  me,  "  Let  us  sit  down  and  see  if  I  can 
find  out  about  it."  My  Sacred  Mother  wrote  through  my  hand 
and  said,  "  The  city  will  go  RepubHcan  strong."  When  Mr. 
Beighle  came  home  that  night  I  told  him,  he  being  a  Repub- 
lican. He  looked  so  disgusted,  and  said,  "  Don't  you  know  the 
city  has  been  Democratic  for  about  twenty-three  years?  That 
is  just  as  much  as  they  know  about  it."  It  did  go  Republican, 
much  to  the  surprise  of  all,  and  again  my  Sacred  Mother  was 
correct. 

I  recall  to  my  memory  a  case  of  a  lady  who  had  been  in  ill- 
health  for  a  number  of  years.  She  had  been  to  a  good  many 
physicians  but  received  no  benefit.  She  had  been  ill  so  long 
that  she  was  about  to  give  up  in  despair  when  she  heard  of  the 
power  in  my  arm  and  came  to  me.  When  Holy  Dr.  Cooper 
told  me  what  the  trouble  was,  and  also  something  of  her  past 
life,  she  concluded  to  take  the  treatment.  Dr.  Cooper  said 
there  was  an  ulcer  on  the  kidney.  After  she  had  treated  a 
while,  I  told  her  to  remain  home,  and  even  if  it  were  in  the  night 


32  Book  of  Knowledge. 

I  would  go  to  her.  I  was  very  busy  in  the  office,  and  many  were 
waiting  for  engagements,  so  I  told  her  she  could  give  her  place 
in  the  office  to  one  who  was  waiting,  and  I  would  not  charge  her 
extra  to  go  to  her.  I  also  told  her  the  Powers  would  tell  me 
when  it  was  time  to  go  to  her ;  she  need  not  send  for  me.  One 
night,  a  week  later,  I  began  to  get  ready  to  retire  when  Holy 
Dr.  Cooper  came  to  me  and  said,  "  Get  ready ;  you  must  go  with 

me  to  Mrs.  W ;  she  is  very  sick."     I  had  a  sister  visiting  me 

who  came  from  Manitoba,  and  who  is  a  strong  Presbyterian. 
I  went  into  her  room  and  asked  her  if  she  would  go  with  me 
to  see  the  lady.  She  answered,  "  Certainly,"  but  she  asked  me 
who  came  after  me.  I  told  her  the  Holy  Doctor  had  just  told 
me ;  she  looked  so  incredulous  and  looked  at  her  watch.  It  was 
eleven  o'clock.  I  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  way  she  looked 
at  me.  Well,  we  started  out  and  I  found  the  place.  It  was  in 
a  lodging-house  south  of  Market  Street,  and  I  remember  I  rang 
the  bell  and  was  told  the  lady's  room  was  on  the  third  floor. 
Sister  felt  very  nervous,  but  I  found  the  room.  I  heard  some 
one  talking,  so  I  rapped  and  was  told  to  come  in.  My  patient 
was  indeed  sick,  but  overjoyed  when  "she  saw  me.  She  said, 
"  Oh,  Doctor,  they  wanted  me  to  send  for  you,  but  I  would  not ; 
I  knew  the  Holy  Power  would  tell  you  about  me ;  I  knew  you 
would  come."  There  were  two  ladies  in  the  room  besides  my 
patient — one,  a  friend  who  was  taking  care  of  her,  the  other 
lady  said  she  was  a  magnetic  healer.  As  soon  as  I  looked 
at  the  patient's  back  I  was  surprised  that  she  had  not  sent  for 
me  herself.  Her  back  was  black,  and  so  swollen.  When  I 
laid  the  hand  on  her,  well,  the  corruption  that  came  out  would 
surely  have  filled  a  large  bowl.  The  "  healer  "  said  she  felt  so 
sick  looking  at  it.  I  laughed,  and  asked  her  if  she  called  her- 
self a  healer.  She  said  she  did,  but  never  saw  anything  like 
that. 

The  patient  became  a  very  healthy  woman. 

I  had  a  young  lady  from  Vallejo  for  a  patient  who  was  a 
very  sick  girl,  but  she  began  to  improve  after  going  under  our 
treatment.  The  family  were  well  pleased  with  her  improve- 
ment and  were  talking  about  returning  home.  One  night  the 
young  patient  and  her  sister  (who  helped  her  mother  take  care 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  33 

of  her)  started  out  of  the  office  quite  late,  about  six  o'clock. 
Their  rooms  were  only  three  or  four  blocks  from  the  office. 
The  sister  put  the  patient  on  a  car,  and  she  started  to  walk. 
All  but  the  McAllister  Street  cars  pass  their  rooms,  and  not 
knowing  that,  the  sister  put  the  patient  on  the  McAllister  Street 
car.  Poor  child  when  she  found  out  she  was  on  the  wrong 
car  she  tried  to  get  ofif,  and  it  being  at  the  time  in  the  evening 
when  the  trucks  and  teams  were  going  home,  she  was  knocked 
down  by  one.  The  sister  coming  along  quickly  saw  the  crowd, 
and  with  a  terrible  foreboding  ran  across  to  see  what  the  trouble 
was,  when,  to  her  amazement,  she  found  her  sick  sister.  She 
got  her  to  her  room,  and  they  were  afraid  to  tell  their  mother 
of  the  accident,  but  she  told  her  that  her  head  ached  and  asked 
to  have  it  bathed.  The  next  morning  the  sister  came  to  my 
office  and,  before  she  told  me,  begged  of  me  if  she  told  me 
something  not  to  tell  her  mother,  and  she  then  told  me  about 
it.  Well,  I  was  placed  so  that  I  c6u\d  not  break  my  word.  I 
went  up  to  see  the  patient  as  soon  as  I  closed  the  office,  and  I 
was  astonished  to  see  the  change  in  the  sick  girl.  She  always 
called  me  her  "  sweetheart  doctor,"  so  when  I  went  in  she  told 
me  that  she  had  a  priest  come  to  see  her,  and  was  it  all  right. 
I  saw  that  her  nerves  were  terribly  shattered,  and  looked  at  her 
closely  and  said  I  would  send  her  a  nurse  who  was  with  me  to 
take  care  of  her.  Dinner  was  ready  when  I  returned  to  my 
home,  and  as  I  do  not  eat  anything  all  day,  I  sat  down  to  dinner 
before  I  telephoned  to  a  doctor.  I  hurriedly  ate  my  meal,  and 
'phoned  for  Dr.  Barrett.  He  said  he  would  come  right  away, 
and  asked  me  what  the  trouble  was.  I  told  him,  when  he  said 
he  guessed  he  would  not  go  as  he  was  going  to  perform  an 
operation.  Then  I  'phoned  for  a  Dr.  Beilhle  in  the  same  build- 
ing where  I  had  my  office.  He  said  "  Yes,"  he  would  come 
right  away,  but  when  he  asked  me  what  the  trouble  was  and  I 
told  him,  he  remembered  right  away  that  he  had  a  pressing  en- 
gagement. Well,  there  I  was — I  had  only  God's  diploma,  and 
that  did  not  count  when  it  was  necessary  to  sign  a  certificate. 
(I  had  so  few  pass  out  of  the  body  that  I  did  not  require  any 
one  to  sign  a  certificate  for  me,  and  ninety-five  out  of  a  hundred 
who  came  to  me  were  so  near  dead  that  it  was  a  question  who 
3 


34  Book  of  Knowledge. 

should  get  the  case,  the  undertaker  or  us.)  I  did  not  know 
what  to  do.  In  a  Httle  while  I  was  called  to  the  telephone  by 
my  nurse  to  send  a  doctor  right  over.  In  a  few  moments  I 
was  called  again  by  a  member  of  the  family  who  resided  in  the 
city  to  send  a  doctor,  as  he  thought  his  cousin  was  dying.  I 
told  him  I  had  been  trying  to  get  one,  but  not  one  would  come, 
and  he  would  have  to  call  one  in.  The  dear  girl  passed  out  of 
the  body  that  night.  I  offered  up  a  prayer  that  the  "  Power  " 
would  send  me  some  physician  that  I  could  have  to  be  with  me 
if  ever  I  was  placed  in  such  a  position  again.  A  few  evenings 
later  Mrs.  Mollie  Smith  asked  me  if  she  could  bring  Dr.  J.  B. 
Mitchell  and  his  wife  to  call  on  me  and  see  our  power.  I  told 
her  I  would  be  home  and  would  be  pleased  to  see  them.  She 
said  she  wanted  me  to  know  the  doctor,  as  he  was  such  an  hon- 
orable man.  They  came,  and  spent  the  next  evening  with  us. 
After  showing  him  the  power,  I  invited  him  to  the  office  to  see 
some  of  the  worst  cases  we  had.  He  came,  and  became  greatly 
interested  in  our  work.  Some  time  later  I  had  a  very  bad  case 
and  I  was  told  by  Holy  Docior  Cooper  to  have  Dr.  Mitchell 
with  me,  not  to  give  them  medicine,  but  to  better  satisfy  the 
patient's  friends  in  case  of  death.  The  patient  recovered,  but" 
Dr.  Mitchell  has  been  with  me  in  many  cases  since.  He  is  one 
of  the  most  honorable,  conscientious  men  I  ever  knew,  and  I 
know  that  with  all  his  patients  he  is  their  friend  as  well  as  doctor. 
Thank  God  he  is  not  ready  to  operate  on  all  occasions,  and  he 
does  not  give  you  such  strong  medicine  as  to  injure  you.  His 
office  in  the  Donohoe  Building,  Market  and  Taylor  Streets,  is 
as  clean  as  the  doctor  himself.  Thank  God!  There  are  some 
conscientious  men  in  the  profession,  and  he  is  one  of  them.  He 
and  his  good  wife  are  among  my  dear  friends. 

Mr.  J.  M.  Wallis,  an  old  patient  who  was  in  the  bank,  came 
to  my  office  one  day  imploring  me  to  ask  Dr.  Cooper  if  he  was 
going  to  lose  his  position,  as  they  were  making  so  many 
changes.  I  told  him  to  come  the  next  day  and  Holy  Doctor 
would  find  out.  When  he  came  I  told  him  that  Dr.  Cooper 
said  he  would  not  lose  his  position  in  the  bank,  but  he  would 
be  promoted  to  a  higher  one  and  that  he  would  hold  it  as  long 
as  he  needed  one.     He  said,  "  Oh,  doctor,  I  am  afraid  Dr. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  35 

Cooper  did  not  look  into  it,  because  every  one  is  so  upset  at 
the  bank.  Indeed,  doctor,  I  would  be  glad  if  I  could  keep  my 
old  position."  Well,  he  did  get  a  higher  position  and  retained 
it  till  he  passed  on  to  the  other  life,  which  was  a  few  years  later. 
When  he  went  on  his  yearly  vacation,  at  the  country  place  he 
went  to,  he  was  taken  ill  and  died.     Dr.  Cooper  was  again  right. 

I  was  treating  a  lady  from  one  of  the  interior  towns.  She 
had  been  an  invalid  for  many  years,  and  a  nurse  who  was  called 
to  attend  her  told  her  about  me.  The  nurse  brought  her  to  the 
office,  and  being  satisfied  with  the  diagnosis,  she  went  under 
treatment.  She  was  getting  along  so  well,  and  expected  to 
return  home  in  a  week  or  two.  One  day  she  was  sitting  in  the 
office  when  I  saw  a  large  coffin  come  from  the  floor,  apparently, 
and  get  into  her  lap.  I  told  her  what  I  saw,  and  she  said  per- 
haps it  was  her  father.  That  was  on  Friday.  Monday  morning 
she  was  dead.  I  had  warned  her  not  to  touch  morphine  again 
as  the  penalty  would  be  death.  It  seems  on  Sunday  she  heard 
some  bad  news  and,  being  nervous,  took  the  morphine;  the 
result  was  she  passed  to  the  other  life. 

A  gentleman  came  into  the  office  one  day  to  consult  me. 
He  said  an  old  patient  had  told  him  about  me.  After  I  had 
examined  him  he  turned  and  asked  me  where  the  above-men- 
tioned gentleman  was.  Knowing  that  my  patient  had  a  good 
many  enemies,  as  his  name  and  business  were  public,  I  did  not 
answer.  I  had  not  seen  him  for  a  year  or  more.  The  gentle- 
man said,  "  I  am  a  friend  of  Mr.  F ."     I  said,  "  Yes,  but 

you  are  a  stranger  to  me.  I  will  ask  my  Power  if  you  are  a 
friend."  Dr.  Cooper  answered  me  and  said  he  would  tell  me 
in  about  fifteen  minutes.  I  went  and  attended  to  a  patient,  and 
when  the  fifteen  minutes  were  up,  Dr.  Cooper  told  me  that  Mr. 

F had  been  up  north,  and  that  the  gentleman  would  shake 

hands  with  him  in  a  few  hours.  At  four  o'clock  that  afternoon 
the  gentleman  telephoned  me  that  he  was  then  shaking  hands 
with  Mr.  F -. 

They  both  became  my  dear  friends  afterwards. 

A  gentleman  called  at  my  office  to  see  if  I  could  go  out  and 
examine  his  sister.  She  had  been  brought  home  from  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  where  she  had  been  for  a  long  time ;  but  the  disease 


36  Book  of  Knowledge. 

she  had  been  doctored  for  had  turned  and  taken  the  symptoms 

of  insanity.     The  gentleman,  Mr.  C ,  who  was  on  the  poHce 

force,  knowing  some  friends  whom  we  had  cured,  was  very 
anxious  to  have  me  see  his  sister,  so  I  drove  out  to  see  her 
one  evening  and  made  an  examination.  I  found  the  lady's 
limbs  so  powerless  that  her  nurse  could  not  put  stockings  nor 
shoes  on  her.  After  I  placed  my  hand  on  her  my  Holy  Doctor 
told  me  her  condition  and  what  was  really  the  disease.  So  her 
husband  and  brother  asked  me  if  I  would  take  the  case.  I  said, 
"  Yes,"  I  would  take  her,  providing  they  would  take  her  to  the 
office.  They  were  only  too  willing  to  do  that,  and  promised  to 
bring  her  the  next  day. 

After  I  left  the  house  that  night  the  husband  of  the  lady 
asked  the  nurse  who  attended  her  if  she  did  not  think  I  was 
very  wonderful.  She  said  indeed  she  could  treat,  too,  if  she 
could  wear  a  tailor-made  suit,  ride  in  a  carriage  and  get  plenty 
of  good  things  to  eat.  Well,  I  laughed  when  I  heard  it,  having 
heard  before  so  many  ridiculous  things  about  the  power. 

They  did  carry  her  up  every  day  and  we  did  cure  her,  and 
the  "  tailor-made  suit,  carriage  and  good  things  to  eat "  did  not 
do  it  either.  That  was  over  three  years  ago,  and  to-day  she  can 
walk  as  well  as  anyone  and  with  brain  perfectly  clear. 

Mr.  Cullinor,  the  lady's  brother,  lives  on  the  corner  of  Post 
and  Devisidero  Streets,  San  Francisco. 

A  few  years  ago  one  of  the  Episcopal  ministers  came  to  the 
office  to  see  about  taking  treatments.  He  was  very  old  and 
feeble,  and  all  we  could  do  for  him  was  to  give  him  strength 
to  help  him  until  he  was  called  to  the  higher  life;  and  I  told 
him  that  seeing  he  had  been  teaching  the  word  of  God  I  would 
gladly  give  him  the  treatments.  His  dear  wife  came  with  him 
every  day,  and  he  was  very  well  pleased,  saying,  when  he  came 
into  the  office,  that  he  wanted  more  of  the  Holy  Power.  We 
gave  him  the  treatments  for  quite  a  while  and,  feeling  so  much 
better,  he  concluded  he  would  go  away  and  visit  his  son. 

Some  two  or  three  months  later  his  wife  came  to  ask  me  if 
I  was  going  to  Berkeley  very  soon,  as  her  husband  was  so 
anxious  to  have  another  treatment;  he  being  too  feeble  after 
his  trip  to  his  son  to  come  to  me.    I  told  her  I  was  going  over 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  37 

to  my  daughter's  the  next  night  for  dinner;  but  to  please  him 
I  would  take  my  dinner  in  the  city  and  then  go  over;  which  I 
did,  taking  a  carriage  at  my  own  expense,  disappointing  my 
precious  daughter,  paying  extra  for  my  dinner — all  of  which  I 
did  most  gladly.  Well,  we  went  to  the  minister's  house  and 
treated  him.  After  I  got  through  the  old  gentleman  got  out 
and  knelt  down  by  his  bedside  and  prayed  earnestly,  asking  God 
if  he  did  right  to  let  me  treat  him,  as  I  was  a  Spirituahst.  The 
whole  scene  was  so  ridiculous  that  I  could  not  help  laughing. 
I  told  him  not  to  worry !  I  thought  God  would  forgive  him  and 
would  not  punish  him  for  it.  The  laughable  part  was — he  got 
his  treatment  before  he  thought  of  asking  God  if  it  were  wrong. 
Imagine  what  a  large  soul  he  had.  Why,  I  did  more  charity 
work  in  a  week  than  he  did  in  a  year. 

I  had  another  Episcopal  minister  from  Oakland  who  came 
to  put  himself  under  our  care.  -When  I  diagnosed  his  case  he 
said  he  was  well  pleased  and  would  take  the  treatment,  but  he 
did  not  draw  his  salary  until  the  first  of  the  month,  and  that 
was  three  weeks  hence;  and  if  I  would  trust  him  till  then  it 
would  be  such  an  accommodation  to  him.  I  told  him  "  Yes," 
seeing  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  his  word  was  good, 
I  would  break  my  rules  and  let  him  do  so.  He  took  the  treat- 
ment all  right.  He  had  asthmatic  conditions  and  choked  from 
it.  The  first  time  he  had  it  in  the  office  I  asked  him  if  he  would 
object  to  taking  a  little  good  whiskey.  He  said,  "  No,  indeed," 
he  would  be  glad  to  take  it;  and  I  found  later  on  that  the 
choking  continued  until  the  whiskey  gave  out.  After  that  he 
got  along  all  right.  The  three  weeks  lengthened  into  nearly 
five,  and  the  **  Reverend "  never  mentioned  money.  I  told 
my  secretary  to  speak  to  him  about  it,  which  she  did.  He  then 
spoke  to  me  and  said  he  would  like  to  pay  me,  but  as  I  had  not 
helped  him  he  did  not  feel  like  paying  for  it;  and  that  he  was 
going  to  be  married  the  next  day,  but  after  he  came  back  from 
his  wedding  trip  he  would  come  and  take  treatments  again, 
and  then,  if  it  helped  him,  he  would  pay  for  it.  I  said,  "  Oh, 
no;  you  will  not  take  any  more  treatments  from  me."  He 
replied,  "  Oh,  yes,  indeed  I  will,  doctor."    I  said,  "  No,  indeed, 


38  Book  of  Knowledge. 

if  you  paid  a  million  dollars  a  treatment  you  could  not  have 
another  treatment  from  me.     You  have  broken  your  word." 

The  very  next  day  I  received  a  letter  from  an  old  patient 
(the  letter  is  still  in  my  desk)  saying  she  had  just  found  out 

that  the  Rev.  Dr.  L ,  of  Oakland,  was  under  our  treatment ; 

that  all  his  friends  noticed  how  much  better  he  was  looking,  but 
did  not  know  with  whom  he  was  doctoring  till  that  day,  when 
she  heard  he  was  with  me. 

I  have  had  some  pretty  severe  lessons  from  so  many  sources. 
One  lady,  whose  husband  was  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  asked  permission  to  let  her  bill  run  for  a  month  or  two. 
She,  too,  was  very  devout.  Well,  one  day  she  came  into  the 
office,  showing  me  some  purchases  she  had  made  which  were 
not  only  handsome  but  expensive.  I  remarked  to  her  that  I 
would  have  to  draw  on  her  for  some  money  right  away.  She 
said  she  was  going  to  tell  rpe  before  she  went  out  of  the  office 
that  her  husband  concluded  I  was  a  fraud  and  did  not  intend  to 
pay  me.  The  powers  told  me  her  husband  gave  her  the  money 
to  pay  the  bill,  and  I  heard  the  same  from  a  friend  of  hers ;  but 
she  had  taken  it  and  bought  her  things  with  it.  Somewhere  she 
will  pay  the  debt  and  with  interest. 

Not  alone  have  different  members  of  the  various  churches 
acted  dishonestly,  but  some  calling  themselves  Spiritualists  have 
done  some  very  unkind  things.  For  instance :  I  closed  the 
office  for  a  month  for  a  much  needed  rest.  While  I  was  away 
a  lady  came  down  from  Oregon  expecting  to  go  under  treat- 
ment. Not  finding  me  in  the  office  she  went  to  see  a  magnetic 
healer,  a  lady  who  had  her  card  out  before  the  public.  This 
lady  asked  the  healer  if  she  knew  me.  She  said  she  did.  The 
lady  asked  her  if  I  had  the  wonderful  power  that  they  were  all 
talking  about.  She  said,  "  Don't  you  believe  it.  I  know  the 
man  well  who  put  up  her  wires."  When  I  returned  the  lady 
came  to  me  and  told  me.  I  laughingly  remarked  that  I  was 
so  glad  she  was  so  well  acquainted  with  God  Almighty,  for  He 
was  the  only  one  who  put  up  my  wires ;  and  I  proved  it  to  the 
lady  to  her  satisfaction. 

The  mediums  are  not  very  charitable  to  one  another,  and 
that  is  the  reason  why  I  have  given  them  all  a  wide  berth. 


Record  of  Some  Wonder  Jul  Cures.  39 

A  lady  came  into  the  office  to  see  me  about  her  husband  to 
make  an  appointment  to  have  him  examined.  While  she  was 
speaking,  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  my  Holy  Doctor,  said,  ''  This 
lady's  husband  has  had  a  shock  which  has  greatly  injured  his 
kidneys,  his  kidneys  being  a  little  affected  before  the  shock,  but 
he  can  be  cured."  The  lady  said  she  lived  in  Oakland  and  that 
six  years  previously  her  husband  had  been  sandbagged  one 
night  coming  home,  and  that  he  had  ever  since  been  a  great 
sufferer.  For  a  few  days  he  would  feel  quite  well,  and  then  in 
a  few  moments  he  would  lose  his  senses  and  often  wandered 
away  from  home  for  days  at  a  time.  Then  he  would  recover 
from  that,  feeling  quite  well  again,  and  in  a  few  moments  again 
it  would  come  upon  him,  affecting  his  limbs  so  he  would  fall 
and  become  perfectly  helpless.  It  would  last  quite  a  long  time 
— sometimes  for  weeks.  All  this  had  been  going  on  for  six 
long  years — an  eternity  to  her.  She  said  that  when  it  affected 
the  brain  the  doctors  treated  the  brain ;  and  when  it  affected  the 
limbs  they  treated  the  limbs ;  and  that  his  case  had  been  written 
up  in  all  the  papers  as  one  of  the  very  peculiar  cases.  Next  day 
she  and  his  father  brought  him  to  my  office,  and  as  he  was 
placed  on  the  operating  table,  I  turned  and  looked  at  his  father, 
and  he  had  such  a  peculiar,  skeptical  look  on  his  face  that  I 
remarked,  "You  do  not  believe  in  this,  do  you?"  He  said, 
"  No,  I  do  not."  I  then  said,  "  What  would  you  say  if  we 
should  cure  your  son  ?  "  He  replied,  "  Well,  I  would  worship 
you."  I  laughingly  said,  "  Begin  right  away,  as  I  will  not  only 
cure  him,  but  before  three  years  have  transpired  I  will  cure  you.'* 
He  said,  ''  Oh,  no,  I  am  too  healthy  a  man."  Well,  I  did  cure 
the  son,  and  within  a  week  or  two  of  the  three  years  we  saved 
the  father's  life  when  seven  of  Oakland's  best  physicians  gave 
him  up  to  die.  We  proved  that  the  Holy  Doctor  knew  what 
was  in  the  future  for  him.  Both  gentlemen  were  well-known 
business  men  in  Oakland.  When  Mr.  Henry  Conklin,  jr.,  came 
and  begged  me  to  go  to  his  father,  saying,  "  You  must  come, 
as  you  said  in  three  years  you  would  save  his  life,  and  the  doc- 
tors now  say  he  has  but  a  few  hours  to  live,"  we  did  go,  and  with 
the  Holy  Power  did  save  him  and  he  became  a  well  man  again. 
But  right  here  I  must  tell  you  that  the  leading  doctor  whom  he 


40  Book  of  Knowledge. 

had  through  his  sickness  said  that  he  could  have  bhstered  him 
too,  but  that  he  did  not  want  to  hurt  him. 

I  think,  dear  reader,  I  hear  you  ask  why  I  did  not  go  to  him 
in  the  beginning.  They  did  come  after  me,  but  the  prophecy 
had  to  be  fulfilled  by  saving  his  life  without  earthly  medicine — 
all  being  done  through  my  hand,  controlled  by  the  God-power. 

The  result  is  what  talks,  not  only  in  this  case  but  in  thou- 
sands of  others. 

I  want  to  speak  to  you  about  another  case  of  a  gentleman 
who  came  to  consult  us.  I  say  us — the  Holy  Dr.  Cooper  and 
Healers,  who  are  ever  with  me  when  I  am  around  the  sick,  I 
being  the  engine  and  they  the  engineers.  This  gentleman  was 
one  of  the  worst  cripples  from  rheumatism,  as  he  called  it.  We 
ascertained  what  organ  was  affecting  the  muscles,  and  how  long 
he  had  had  the  disease,  and  how  it  began.  He  looked  stolid,  said 
nothing  and  went  away.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day 
he  returned  and  said  that  he  would  take  the  treatment,  as  he 
had  consulted  and  treated  with  so  many  physicians  and  not  one 
had  told  him  what  I  had,  he  being  a  total  stranger  to  me; 
and  that  if  I  could  tell  him  so  much  about  himself,  recalling  to 
him  things  of  years  gone  by,  he  thought  I  certainly  could  cure 
him.  He  was  a  man  of  means,  and  had  been  crippled  so  ter- 
ribly you  could  hardly  realize  that  he  ever  had  been  like  other 
men.  He  was  an  educated  man,  and  while  treating  him  he 
would  argue,  in  fact,  about  everything.  He  told  me  he  was 
bitter  against  Spiritualism — so  much  so  that  when  one  doctor 
whom  he  had  claimed  to  be  a  Spiritualist,  and  when  he  found  it 
out  he  settled  his  bill.  Now  I  tell  you  I  had  to  keep  the  Holy 
Doctor  close  to  me  when  this  gentleman  was  being  treated  so 
I  could  answer  him  back  in  all  his  arguments.  The  result  was 
that  he  not  only  got  well  and  could  walk  as  well  as  any  other 
man,  but  he  told  me  that  whenever  he  would  hear  Spiritualism 
mentioned  he  would  lift  his  hat  in  reverence  and  think  of  the 
dearest  little  woman  and  doctor  on  earth.  I  tell  you  I  thought 
we  had  indeed  accomplished  a  great  deal.  He  was  such  a 
worthy  man,  and  a  man  whose  opinion  would  convert  many  to 
the  higher  life.     I  will  give  you  his  letter  to  me  when  he  left. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  41 

San  Jose,  Cal.,  April  25,  1896. 

Dear  Dr.  Beighle  : — I  have  no  disposition  to  obtrude  myself 
upon  your  notice,  for  I  well  know  that  every  moment  of  your 
time  is  taken.  I  cannot  resist  the  inclination,  however,  to 
venture  a  few  words  just  to  tell  you  how  well  I  am  feeling". 
I  do  this  because  I  know  it  will  give  you  pleasure,  for  I  believe 
you  really  rejoice  as  greatly  over  the  recovery  of  a  patient  as 
the  patient  does  himself.  I  am  just  doing  splendidly,  doctor. 
In  fact,  I  can^t  tell  you  how  well  I  am  feehng;  but  suffice  it  to 
say  that  everything  has  assumed  couleur  de  rose,  and  I  now  feel 
new  interest  in  life.  This,  too,  in  spite  of  the  protracted  dis- 
agreeable weather.  It  has  rained  almost  continuously  ever 
since  I  left  the  city.  I  have  not  seen  the  sky  until  this  morning.  A 
small  patch  of  blue  is  now  visible,  perhaps  about  enough  to  make 
a  pair  of  pants ;  certainly  not  enough  to  make  a  pair  of  modern 
feminine  sleeves,  but  it  gives  promise  of  growing,  and  I  con- 
fidently expect  some  bright  weather.  As  soon  as  the  weather 
will  permit  making  the  trip  comfortably,  I  expect  to  visit  Mt. 
Hamilton  and  take  a  peep  at  other  worlds  through  the  great 
Lick  telescope. 

Will  probably  return  to  the  city  next  week,  and  expect  to 
take  the  next  steamer  thereafter  for  Portland,  unless  upon  ex- 
amination the  "  Boss "  deems  further  treatment  necessary, 
which  I  scarcely  think  will  be  the  case. 

Please  retain  all  mail  that  may  come  for  me,  and  believe  me, 
Sincerely  and  gratefully  yours, 

John  Thomison. 

A  gentleman  from  Sacramento  who  was  under  our  treat- 
ment was  suffering  with  stomach  trouble  to  such  an  extent  that 
he  could  not  eat  anything  (really  if  it  were  not  for  his  jolly  dis- 
position he  never  would  have  lived  to  come  under  our  treat- 
ment), and  he  used  to  make  all  kinds  of  remarks  about  Spirit- 
ualism. One  day  I  took  him  to  task,  asking  him  if  he  did  not 
know  that  I  was  a  Spiritualist.  He  replied,  "  I  think  you  are 
wonderfully  gifted,  just  as  one  would  be  in  music  or  in  paint- 
ing." He  said,  "  Look  here,  Doctor,  I  know  what  I  am  talking 
about.     I  have  been  around  to    see    many  of   your    so-called 


42  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mediums,  and  there  is  not  one  that  I  have  been  to  that  I  cannot 
take  out  to  dinner,  and  take  them  home  just  when  I  please." 
These  words  fell  like  a  thunderbolt,  and  I  began  to  look  into  it 
and  found  that  indeed  it  was  too  true.  Right  here,  I  wish  to 
say  a  word  about  the  psychic,  the  medium,  the  instrument  that 
God  has  selected  to  bring  these  truths  before  the  world. 

Dear  reader  and  friends,  did  it  ever  occur  to  you  how  you 
treat  your  mediums?  A  minister  of  any  denomination  is  paid 
a  salary  large  enough  to  keep  him  in  plenty,  and  to  take  a  vaca- 
tion to  Europe  if  he  desires  to  go.  How  about  your  mediums, 
whom  the  people  turn  to  for  consolation  ?  How  are  they  paid  ? 
Perhaps  twenty-five  cents,  fifty  cents,  or  one  dollar,  if  all  the 
information  is  satisfactory.  If  not,  not  anything.  Do  you  ever 
find  mediums  who  are  rich,  and  who  can  aflford  to  drive  in  their 
carriages  ?  No,  most  of  them  live  in  a  few  rooms,  and  either 
have  children  or  some  one  whom  they  have  to  care  for.  Then 
comes  the  temptation  to  make  up  something  for  the  one  seeking 
information.  Dear  readers,  why  don't  the  Spiritualists — the 
rich  ones — salary  their  mediums  as  other  denominations  do? 
Place  them  in  a  position  where  they  will  not  be  tempted  to  sell 
their  souls  for  bread  and  butter ;  and  I  know  there  is  not  one  of 
them  to-day  but  would  be  as  pure  as  the  day  they  were  born. 
But  no,  our  rich  spiritualists  are  like  Micawber  in  David 
Copperfield — always  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up. 

I  have  heard  them  say  (as  I  know  a  few  of  them)  that  they 
were  in  a  speculation,  and  if  it  turned  out  well  they  were  going 
to  build  a  temple,  and  they  were  going  to  place  the  mediums 
where  they  ought  to  be.  The  speculation  turning  out  all  right, 
they  would  put  that  away  and  wait  for  another  good  turn  of 
fortune;  and  so  it  has  been  going  on  for  twenty  odd  years  to 
my  knowledge. 

Again  we  will  turn  to  Mr.  Sawyer,  the  gentleman  who  had 
such  a  poor  opinion  of  mediums  in  general;  one  day  he  was  say- 
ing something  funny,  as  he  thought,  about  the  higher  power, 
when  suddenly  the  Holy  Doctor  told  me  to  tell  him  that  before 
two  years  would  pass  he  would  come  to  me  begging  for  infor- 
mation from  the  angel  world.  He  laughed  and  said,  "  I  guess 
not."    Two  years  later,  within  a  week  or  two,  Mr.  Sawyer  came 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  43 

to  my  office  with  his  son  (he  had  one  son  and  a  daughter),  and 
when  I  saw  him  I  exclaimed  at  his  changed  appearance.  With 
tears  streaming  from  his  eyes  he  said,  "  Your  prophesy  is  ful- 
filled. I  want  a  message  from  the  spirit  world."  I  said,  "  What 
has  happened,  Mr.  Sawyer?"  He  replied,  "Oh,  my  daughter, 
Doctor,  my  beautiful  daughter  whom  I  used  to  talk  to  you  about 
is  dead,  and  I  want  to  hear  from  her.  You  know  I  told  you 
when  I  was  here  before  that  she  was  going  to  be  married.  She 
did  marry,  and  when  her  child  was  born  she  died,  and  my 
heart  is  almost  broken.  I  have  come  to  you  to  open  the  door 
so  that  she  may  speak  to  me."  Poor  man,  the  prophesy  came 
true  sure  enough.  Well,  I  sent  him  to  a  strange  medium  whom 
I  knew  received  messages  from  the  higher  life,  and  one  whom 
he  could  not  take  out  to  dinner.  To-day  he  raises  his  hat  in 
reverence  to  Spiritualism.  The  one  being  on  earth  that  he 
loved  had  to  go  on  her  journey  to  open  the  door  for  him. 

Mr.  Stratton,  a  gentleman  whom  we  have  cured,  and  whose 
daughter  we  went  to  see  in  Berkeley,  came  to  my  office  one  day 
bringing  with  him  the  Reverend  Dr.  T ,  one  of  the  Method- 
ist ministers  of  Oakland,  and  one  of  a  number  of  ministers  who 
had  reprimanded  Mr.  Stratton  for  coming  to  me,  a  Spiritualist. 
But  Mr.  Stratton  told  them  at  the  time  they  had  no  better 
woman  in  their  congregation  than  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle.  And 
when  they  found  out  how  well  he  was  from  the  treatment,  quite 
a  number  of  the  congregation  came  to  me  for  treatment  too, 
also  the  leading  minister's  wife.  Mr.  Stratton  came  into  my 
office  and  sent  word  into  the  operating  rooms  by  the  attendant 
that  he  would  like  to  see  me  as  soon  as  possible,  as  the  Rev. 

Dr.  T wanted  to  have  his  wife  examined.     As  soon  as  I 

found  time  I  called  them  into  the  examining  room.  Mr.  Strat- 
ton introduced  me  to  them.     Dr.  T addressed  me,  saying, 

"  Dr.  Beighle,  I  am  not  at  all  surprised,  after  seeing  you,  that 
you  have  this  wonderful  power  that  I  hear  spoken  of.  You 
are  a  woman  of  fine  physique  and  very  healthy."  I  asked  him  if 
he  thought  the  power  emanated  from  me.     He  said  he  did.     I 

replied,  ''  Dr.  T ,  if  this  holy  power  emanated  from  me  I 

would  be  proud  to  receive  an  introduction  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
T ."     I  washed  my  hands  before  them.    While  doing  so  I 


44  Book  of  Knowledge. 

asked  the  Holy  Powers  to  diagnose  the  doctor's  case  before  his 
wife,  and  to  give  me  something  about  his  past  Hfe  that  would 
astonish  him.  When  I  finished  I  started  to  examine  his  wife ;  he 
turned  to  her  and  said,  "  I  know  now  it  is  not  from  Dr.  Beighle." 

When  I  got   through   examining  Mrs.  T ,  Dr.  T said, 

*'  Dr.  Beighle,  if  all  Spiritualists  were  like  you  I  should  want  to 
be  one."  I  told  him  if  he  would  show  me  a  good  Spiritualist, 
man  or  woman,  he  would  show  me  a  good  man  or  woman. 
The  church  members  looked  at  the  chaff  and  not  at  the  wheat, 
and  I  thought  we  did  the  same  with  their  churches.  I  had  but 
one  religion,  and  that  was  "  to  do  unto  others  as  I  would  have 
them  do  unto  me."  This  power  was  God's  law;  a  knowledge, 
not  alone  a  religion. 

It  ended  by  all  his  family  treating  with  me. 


LITTLE  NORMA  DEARBORN.       ' 

One  day,  a  few  years  ago,  a  gentleman  and  a  lady  entered 
my  office,  the  gentleman  carrying  a  little  girl  of  about  seven 
years  of  age.  Her  little  leg  was  all  fastened  up  in  irons.  The 
lady  said  she  wanted  me  to  see  what  was  the  matter  with  the  child. 
When  we  examined  her  we  found  the  leg  withered  and  about 
three  inches  or  more  shorter  than  the  other.  The  shoes  she 
had  on  were  shoes  that  go  with  such  irons.  I  told  them  that 
we  would  take  the  case,  but  we  would  have  to  take  the  irons 
right  off,  and  they  must  get  shoes  for  walking.  The  poor 
father  and  mother  looked  bewildered,  but  I  told  them  that  the 
Holy  Powers  said  they  must  do  so  if  they  wished  to  put  her 
under  our  treatment.  I  left  the  room  for  a  short  time,  and 
upon  returning  they  said  they  had  decided  to  let  us  take  charge 
of  her.  The  physicians  who  had  had  charge  of  her,  and  they 
had  many,  treated  her  leg,  saying  the  disease  was  there;  but 
the  Holy  Power  said  it  was  in  her  kidneys,  and  after  three  or 
four  months'  treatment  through  the  power  in  my  hand,  without 
any  earthly  medicine,  she  was  cured ;  and  to-day,  which  is  sev- 
eral years  since  we  treated  her,  she  can  walk  and  run  as  well 
as  any  girl ;  and  you  cannot  tell  which  leg  was  afflicted.     Dear 


CAST    OF    DR.    UEIGIILE'S   ARM. 
Power  enters  at  place  indicated  by  dark  line,  and  passes  out  through  the  hand. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  45 

little  Norma,  her  cure  was  the  means  of  her  sending  me  about 
three  hundred  or  more  patients. 

Her  parents  live  in  East  Oakland. 

HERBERT  THOMPSON. 

We  had  another  case  also  from  Oakland ;  a  little  boy  whose 
father  was  vice-president  of  one  of  the  banks  of  that  city,  and 
whose  aunt  is  editor  of  one  of  the  leading  weekly  papers  of 
the  same  place.  When  they  brought  little  Herbert  to  me  he 
was  about  nine  years  old,  and  suffering  from  hip-disease.  After 
examining  him  the  Holy  Power  told  me  to  take  the  case  and  if, 
after  treating  him  two  weeks,  he  could  walk  at  all  without  his 
crutches  that  we  could  cure  him.  He  was  such  a  sensible  boy 
I  knew  I  could  speak  plainly  to  him.  When  the  two  weeks 
had  expired  and  we  were  ready  to  test  him,  the  patients,  and  we 
had  a  good  many,  were  anxious  to  see  what  he  could  do.  I  was 
so  nervous  I  did  not  dare  let  anyone  see  him  except  his  mother. 
We  went  out  into  the  hall,  and  the  little  chap  handed  me  his 
crutches  and  started  to  walk.  My  soul  was  in  prayer  with  the 
God-power.  The  few  moments  seemed  months  to  me,  but  he 
walked ;  he  continued  treatment  and  we  cured  him.  He  is  now 
one  of  the  bright  young  men  of  Oakland,  and  as  well  as  any  one. 

I  was  highly  amused  one  day,  and  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
about  it.  I  was  very  busy,  as  usual,  when  I  was  informed  that 
a  lady  was  very  anxious  to  see  me.  As  soon  as  I  could  give  her 
the  time  I  took  her  into  my  private  room.  She  was  a  very  slight, 
light-haired,  sickly-looking  woman.  She  eyed  me  very  closely ; 
I  showed  her  the  power  in  my  arm  and  then  began  to  examine 
her.  She  acknowledged  that  I  was  right,  but  in  a  few  moments 
denied  it.  Then  she  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  Do  you  know  who 
lam?"  I  answered,  "  No,  I  do  not."  '^  Well,"  she  said,  "  I 
am  going  to  graduate  next  month  as  a  physician,"  and  she 
looked  so  defiant.  I  said,  "  Physician,  heal  thyself."  She 
turned  around,  pretending  not  to  notice  what  I  said,  and  asked 
what  my  charges  were.  I  told  her  and  she  seemed  astonished, 
saying  that  her  husband  was  a  poor  clergyman  and  she  could 


46  Book  of  Knowledge. 

not  afford  to  pay  out  so  much  money,  and  that  she  did  not  be- 
lieve in  spiritual  healing  anyway.  I  asked  her  if  she  read  her 
Bible  aright,  as  spiritual  healing  is  one  of  the  principal  laws  laid 
down  by  Christ.  She  did  not  say  anything  more,  but,  as  the 
boy  said,  "  she  looked  her  scorn,"  and  asked  what  the  fee  was. 
I  told  her  and  to  pay  it  to  my  secretary  as  she  passed  out.  The 
office  was  full  of  patients  as  she  entered  and  laid  the  money  on 
the  desk,  saying,  "  Fools  and  their  money  are  soon  parted."  It 
amused  the  patients  very  much. 

It  is  very  singular  to  see  little  children  who  are  sick  and 
crippled  coming  to  the  office.  The  first  time  they  come  they 
are  very  timid,  but  just  as  soon  as  we  can  get  the  God-power 
over  them  they  are  always  ready  and  anxious  to  be  with  me,  and 
their  mothers  and  protectors  tell  me  that  anything  in  the  shape 
of  flowers,  pictures,  or  candy  they  want  to  save  for  me.  One 
little  girl  in  Berkeley,  little  Catherine  Grant,  a  little  tot  of  four 
years,  is  very  fond  of  me.  One  day  a  lady  was  walking  up  the 
street  and  she  saw  little  Catherine  standing  by  the  letter  box 
with  her  little  apron  full  of  flowers,  putting  them  into  the  box. 
The  lady  asked  her  what  she  was  doing,  and  she  said  she  was 
sending  flowers  to  doctor  by  mail.  Bless  her !  We  have  treated 
hundreds  of  children,  and  every  one  after  a  treatment  was  glad 
to  come  back  to  the  office.  Little  Norma  Dearborn,  a  little  girl 
whom  we  cured,  and  whose. cure  was  the  means  of  hundreds 
coming  to  me,  was  compelled  one  day  to  remain  at  home  on 
account  of  her  swallowing  a  large  piece  of  gum.  So  her  mother 
told  her  to  remain  in  bed  till  she  returned  from  my  office.  The 
dear  little  girl  had  her  father  wrap  a  shawl  around  her  and  carry 
her  into  the  garden  so  she  could  pick  some  pinks  for  me. 

Skeptics,  those  who  have  never  troubled  themselves  about 
the  communication  between  the  two  worlds,  have  said  to  me, 
"What  good  comes  of  it?"  I  will  answer  now.  If  Spiritual- 
ism never  did  but  one  thing,  it  takes  away  the  fear  of  death,  and 
that  in  itself  is  everything.  But  it  does  more :  it  proves  to  us 
that  our  loved  ones  do  return  to  us  daily.  Let  me  tell  you  of 
a  little  incident  I  heard  a  few  days  ago :  Mr.  McClure,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Philosophical  Journal,  a  gentleman  up  in  the  seventies, 
and  one  whose  word  is  law  to  those  who  know  him,  said  that 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  47 

forty  years  ago  he  was  in  a  mining  camp  alone,  and  had  been 
for  quite  a  while.  He  said  he  had  the  toothache  for  ten  days 
until  he  thought  he  would  lose  his  mind.  At  last,  in  despera- 
tion, he  cried  aloud,  "  My  God,  have  you  forsaken  me  ?  "  Then 
in  a  few  moments  he  felt  a  presence  with  him,  as  though  his 
sister  Mary  was  in  the  cabin  with  him.  He  said  he  knew  noth- 
ing of  Spiritualism  whatever  at  that  time.  He  spoke  aloud,  say- 
ing, "  Sister  Mary,  if  this  is  you  who  are  here  with  me,  can  it 
be  possible  to  bring  something  to  help  me  ?  "  He  told  me  that 
in  a  few  moments  he  felt  as  though  a  hand  was  placed  on  his 
head  and  he  began  to  feel  as  though  he  had  taken  an  opiate. 
When  he  awoke  the  sun  was  shining  in  his  face.  He  had  slept 
through  the  night  and  late  into  the  next  day.  From  that  time 
on  he  felt  perfectly  well ;  and  from  that  on  he  became  an  ardent 
Spiritualist. 

One  afternoon  about  five  o'clock,  I  was  told  by  Holy  Doctor 
Cooper  to  change  my  clothes  immediately  and  go  to  Berkeley. 
I  was  amazed,  as  I  was  treating  about  sixty-five  or  seventy 
patients  daily,  going  to  the  office  about  eight  a.m.^  and  not  leav- 
ing until  eight  p.m.  But  as  I  always  did  what  they  told  me  to  do, 
I  hurriedly  changed  my  clothing,  thinking  that  my  children  might 
be  ill  or  something  had  happened  to  them,  as  all  my  children  lived 
in  Berkeley.  When  I  left  the  train,  I  hurried  to  my  son-in-law's 
store  to  know  what  was  the  trouble.  Sam  looked  so  startled 
when  he  saw  me  at  that  hour  and  said,  "  Mamma,  dear,  what  is 
the  matter?"  I  asked  him  if  any  of  them  were  ill.  He  said, 
"  No."  I  then  told  him  that  the  Holy  Doctor  had  sent  me  over 
there.  Sam  said,  "  Mamma,  I  know  what  it  is.  Mr.  Stratton's 
daughter  has  been  dying  all  day."  I  told  him  to  get  a  carriage 
as  quickly  as  possible  and  I  would  go  there.  I  had  treated  Mr. 
Stratton  two  years  before.  He  had  been  superintendent  of  the 
Public  Schools  of  Oakland,  but  was  taken  sick.  He  had  one  of 
our  city  physicians  of  considerable  note,  who  had  applied  elec- 
tricity and  paralyzed  his  spine,  and  after  being  a  helpless  wreck 
for  more  than  a  year,  he  was  told  about  me  and  my  powers.  He 
came,  and  the  result  was  that  we  cured  him.  He  lived  in  Berke- 
ley with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Cody,  who  was  a  widow  and  who  had 
been  teaching  school  in  Oakland.     It  seems  that  she  had  been 


48  Book  of  Knowledge. 

taken  sick  with  pneumonia.  They  called  in  one  of  the  physicians 
of  Berkeley  to  attend  her,  and  she  had  five  relapses,  as  I  found 
out  later,  or  at  least  the  night  I  went  there.  When  we  drove 
up  to  the  house,  Sam  rang  the  bell  and  a  young  lady  came  to 
the  door,  whom  I  had  met  once  before.  She  said,  "  Mrs.  Cody 
is  dying,  Doctor;  you  are  too  late."  She  was  crying  bitterly. 
I  did  not  say  anything,  but  knew  I  was  not,  or  I  would  not 
have  been  taken  out  of  my  office  in  that  manner.  I  entered  the 
sick  room  and  met  the  physician.  I  did  not  ask  him  if  I  could 
examine  Mrs.  Cody,  but  went  over  and  washed  my  hands  and 
then  went  to  the  bedside.  She  lay  there  with  her  eyes  half  closed, 
a  position  she  had  been  in  all  day,  so  I  was  told.  While  washing 
my  hands,  my  soul  was  in  prayer  with  the  God  Power,  and  when 
I  laid  my  hand  on  her  it  simply  put  life  into  her.  Her  eyelids 
closed  for  a  few  moments;  then  opened,  and  she  spoke.  I 
turned  to  the  good  doctor,  apologizing  for  my  coming  in  that 
way ;  but  he  was  so  interested  and  amazed.  I  then  asked  him  if 
he  could  come  into  the  other  room,  as  I  wished  to  speak  to  him. 
I  again  offered  an  apology,  also  telling  him  that  I  knew  he  was 
treating  her  for  her  heart  and  lungs.  He  said  he  was.  I  then  said, 
"  Change  it,"  and  told  him  what  to  do.  He  said  he  certainly 
would,  and  he  did.  Mrs.  Cody  had  a  picture  of  mine  which  be- 
longed to  her  father.  She  had  it  hung  on  the  wall  so  that  she  could 
see  it,  and  they  told  me  that  the  good  doctor,  when  he  came  in, 
would  look  at  it  and  say,  "  A  wonderful  woman,  a  very  wonder- 
ful woman."  As  I  could  not  go  over  to  see  her,  I  will  here  give 
the  letter  that  Mr.  Stratton,  her  dear,  good  old  father,  wrote  me. 
He  is  one  of  the  most  conscientious  men  I  ever  knew ;  honorable, 
upright,  pure,  and  good.  All  who  know  him  sing  his  praise. 
Poor  in  wealth  of  this  earth,  but  in  the  life  beyond  he  will  be 
rich  indeed.  I  am  positive  he  never  wronged  a  human  being  and 
always  gave  a  helping  hand  to  those  who  needed  it.  In  the  higher 
life  I  shall  meet  him,  and  will  be  so  proud  to  lead  him  to  my  loved 
ones  there. 

This  is  his  letter: 

Berkeley,  October  19,  1893. 
Dr.  Nellie  Beighle. 

My  Dear  Friend: — I  did  not  write  earlier  in  the  day,  as  I 
hoped  it  would  be  possible  for  you  to  come  this  evening  to  give 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  49 

Ida  another  treatment.  But  of  course  you  could  not,  with  all 
your  office  patients  on  your  hands.  But  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
I  feel  you  have  already  saved  her  precious  life.  Your  treatment 
seemed  to  arouse  her  sinking  vitality,  to  give  her  new  life,  and 
she  has  continued  to  improve  rapidly  ever  since.  To-day,  for  the 
first  time  since  her  last  relapse,  she  speaks  confidently  of  getting 
well.  P'or  this,  together  with  all  you  have  done  for  us  in  the  past, 
mere  words  but  feebly  express  our  thanks  and  heartfelt  gratitude. 
Last  night  she  had  a  most  singular  experience.  You  promised 
to  send  your  spirit  forces  over  to  help  her.  They  came ;  and  as 
a  result,  she  expresses  herself  as  not  only  feeling  much  better  in 
body,  but  strangely  happy  and  elevated  in  spirit.  For  some 
time  she  was  in  a  trance  state,  such  as  she  had  never  before  ex- 
perienced, alarming  the  watchers  and  all  of  us,  as  we  could  not 
arouse  her  while  it  lasted.  She  came  out  of  it  very  happy,  say- 
ing she  had  enjoyed  a  heavenly  communion  with  many  spirit 
friends,  and  had  received  a  new  spiritual  illumination,  never  ex- 
perienced before.  New  and  higher  views  of  life  were  unfolded. 
She  will  explain  it  all  as  soon  as  she  is  strong  enough  to  talk. 

For  an  old  Methodist  whose  belief  is  dyed  in  the  wool,  it 
would  seem  to  be  a  strange  manifestation;  but  thank  God,  the 
world  moves  spiritually  as  well  as  socially  and  physically.  If 
no  new  spiritual  truths  are  revealed  old  ones  are  receiving  an 
illumination  that  gives  them  a  beauty  and  pow6r  undreamed  of 
by  our  fathers.  I  still  cling  with  love  to  the  good  old  Methodist 
faith,  as  taught  by  Wesley,  modified,  of  course,  by  circumstances 
of  individuality  and  personal  experiences;  but  since  witnessing 
so  oft  the  wonderful  spiritual  power  for  good  you  possess,  and 
which  I  were  blindly  stupid  not  to  believe  in,  the  good  old  Scrip- 
tural doctrine  of  the  ministration  of  angels,  instead  of  being  a 
vain,  unsatisfactory  belief,  has  become  a  living  verity.  No  longer 
an  unsatisfying,  misty  article  of  faith,  but  a  beautiful  and  grand 
truth,  a  blessed  fact,  a  daily  and  hourly  help  and  consolation. 
Thank  God  for  my  past  year's  illumination  through  your  spir- 
itual guidance.  Instead  of  loving  the  blessed  Bible  and  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  less,  their  words  have  received  new  beauty,  life, 
and  power. 

Gratefully  yours, 
4  (Signed)     James  Stratton. 


50  Book  of  Knowledge. 

It  gives  me  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  give  to  the  public 
my  testimony  in  regard  to  the  wonderful  cure  performed  on  me 
by  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle.  I  had  a  large  tumor  in  the  abdomen ;  was 
examined  by  three  of  the  best  physicians  in  Oakland  and  San 
Francisco,  and  they  pronounced  my  case  hopeless  unless  I  sub- 
mitted to  an  operation,  and  even  then  would  give  me  very  little 
encouragement.  But  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  have  the  opera- 
tion performed  and  take  the  risk,  when  I  heard  of  Dr.  Beighle 
through  a  friend,  and  decided  to  see  her  first.  She  made  an  ex- 
amination and  said  she  could  cure  me.  I  began  taking  treat- 
ment immediately,  and  commenced  improving  from  the  first. 
The  tumor  is  gone,  and  to-day  (thank  God  and  the  little  doctor) 
I  am  a  perfectly  well  woman.  I  shall  be  glad  to  tell  any  one 
personally  of  my  case  if  they  call  on  me  at  my  residence,  1224)4 
Haight  Street. 

Mrs.  Nellie  Osgood. 

Mrs.  Osgood,  the  lady  whose  letter  I  give  here,  came  to  my 
office  to  be  examined.  She  had  such  a  very  large  tumor  that  she 
was  immense.  She  had  such  a  yellowish  brown  color,  and  she 
looked  so  hopeless,  but  dear  Dr.  Cooper  told  me  to  take  the  case 
and  the  power  would  be  able  to  cure  her.  She  came  to  me  regu- 
larly, and  her  letter  shows  that  we  kept  our  word.  To-day  she  is 
a  very  handsome  woman.  She  met  one  of  her  doctors  on  the 
street  after  we  cured  her,  and  she  said  he  was  so  astonished  to 
see  her  looking  so  well.  When  she  told  him  about  our  taking 
the  tumor  away,  he  said,  "  The  doctors  ought  to  know  about 
this.'-' 

Deadwood,  Trinity  Co.,  Cal.,  March,  '02. 

After  twelve  years  of  sickness,  having  gone  through  three 
operations  under  skilled  physicians,  I  came  from  the  sanitarium 
a  total  wreck.  Having  no  desire  to  live,  my  health  being  so  im- 
paired, I  prayed  for  death,  thinking  that  would  be  my  only  re- 
lief from  all  my  suffering. 

As  a  last  resort,  I  commenced  treatment  four  months  ago 
with  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle.  My  system  was  so  full  of  poison  it  is 
something  beyond  a  miracle  when  I  think  of  Dr.  Beighle  effecting 
a  cure  without  the  aid  of  one  drop  of  medicine.     Since  treating 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  51 

with  her  I  have  felt  for  the  first  time  during  my  sickness  that  I 
will  again  be  a  well  woman. 

Words  can  never  express  my  gratitude  to  the  Doctor  when 
I  consider  all  she  has  done  for  me;  for  life,  when  deprived  of 
your  health,  is  not  worth  living. 
May  God  bless  her! 

Gratefully  yours, 

Mary  A.  Dobler. 

Mrs.  Dobler,  whose  letter  I  give  here,  came  to  me  a  total 
wreck.  Her  husband  and  her  friends  thought  she  would  surely 
lose  her  mind;  and  no  wonder,  for  she  was  so  blood-poisoned 
from  the  operations.  Those  who  saw  the  poison  that  came  out 
of  her  were  shocked,  but  dear  Dr.  Cooper  said  she  could  be 
cured.  That  was  a  year  ago,  or  nearly  so.  A  few  days  ago  I 
received  a  letter  from  her,  and  she  is  still  improving. 

In  the  year  1901  a  lady  came  to  the  office  for  consultation, 
saying  that  Mrs.  John  F.  Snow,  of  the  Dyeing  Works,  had  sent 
her  to  me.  I  made  an  examination  through  the  power,  and  found 
her  in  a  bad  condition.  She  being  perfectly  satisfied  with  her 
diagnosis  went  under  treatment  not  any  too  soon.  One  day, 
while  treating  her,  she  told  me  her  husband  had  consumption, 
and  that  one  lung  was  entirely  gone  and  the  other  had  a  big  hole 
in  it.  The  Holy  Doctor  spoke  in  my  ear  and  said,  "  No,  my  child, 
he  has  not  consumption,  but  his  liver  is  in  a  bad  condition."    He 

then  explained  what  the  trouble  was.  Mrs.  A said  she  would 

bring  him  with  her  the  next  time  and  let  him  see  the  power. 
He  came,  and  the  diagnosis  being  correct,  he  went  under  treat- 
ment and  to-day  is  still  alive.  For  many  years  he  was  the  libra- 
rian for  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  A  friend  of  his  wrote  him,  in- 
quiring about  our  treatment,  as  he  wished  to  put  his  wife  under 
it.  Mr.  A 's  letter,  which  his  friend's  wife  gave  to  me,  ex- 
plains.   Mr.  A does  not  know  that  I  have  ever  seen  the  letter. 

CoRVALLTS,  Ore.,  Aug.  9,  1892. 
My  Dear  Friend  Garrett: — You  ought  to  be  near  enough 
to  me  to  give  me  one  real  good  hard  kick.    I  deserve  it.    No  ade- 
quate apology  can  be  made  in  this  case,  therefore  you  will  have 


53  Book  of  Knowledge. 

to  subtract  the  adverse  value  from  your  former  good  opinion  of 
me,  and  if  you  discover  a  remainder,  fling  it  into  the  ash-barrel 
along  with  the  other  refuse.  It  will  be  the  most  unprofitable 
thing  a  scavenger  ever  collected. 

The  most  important  thing  you  wanted  to  know  was  relative 

to  Mrs.  A 's  doctor.    Well  that  Doctor  is  a  good  one — ^bless 

her  soul !  She  cured  me  of  a  miserable  cough  that  I  confidently 
expected  would  cost  me  a  wooden  shirt — by  the  way,  the  saving 
of  that  expense  was  probably  not  worth  the  trouble. 

My  wife  had  been  under  doctors  care  for  five  years,  and  ap- 
parently was  getting  steadily  worse.  She  was  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  Beighle  for  six  or  eight  weeks  and  was  entirely  cured,  or  ap- 
parently so,  when  we  left  the  city.  Her  health  is  not  quite  so  good 
now,  but  she  attributes  it  to  work  and  worry  since  coming  home. 
She  is  so  convinced  of  Dr.  Beighle^s  ability  to  do  what  she  says 
she  can  do  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  persuade  her  to  take 
treatment  of  an  old  school  physician  for  anything  that  Dr.  Beighle 

said  she  could  cure.    When  Mrs.  A went  to  Dr.  Beighle  she 

was  suffering  with  bladder,  kidney  and  stomach  troubles.  She 
was  really  in  a  desperate  condition.  The  principal  trouble  was 
apparently  in  her  heart.  That  organ.  Dr.  Beighle  said,  was  not 
particularly  affected,  and  apparently  she  was  right,  for  under 
her  treatment  the  pain  ceased  in  that  organ  in  a  very  short  time. 
She  charges  what  looks  like  a  steep  price,  does  not  advertise,  has 
a  large  practise  and  a  most  intelligent  class  of  patients  (myself 
excepted).  She  is  quite  entertaining,  rather  good-looking,  pos- 
sesses an  excellent  figure  and  is  really  good  to  look  at;  but  I 
do  not  think  that  looking  at  her  would  cure  a  black  eye  or  make 
me  forget  the  toothache  of  any  kind,  or  cease  to  cough  with  a 
badly  irritated  condition  of  the  bronchial  tubes.  But  that  she 
has  some  occult  power  whereby  she  can  hocus-pocus  the  situation 
sufficiently  to  make  you  believe  you  are  not  suffering  from  these 
evils,  cannot  be  denied  by  those  who  are  familiar  with  her  work. 
Call  and  have  a  talk  with  her — see  some  of  her  patients — I  am 

not  advising  you  to  have  her  treat  Mrs.  G ,  although  Mrs. 

A says,  "  By  all  means  advise  your  friend  to  take  his  wife 

to.  Dr.  Beighle."  I  have  told  you  in  this  things  that  I  know, 
and  I  am,  or  rather  have  been,  as  bad  a  skeptic  in  matters  of 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  53 

this  kind  as  anyone  could  be.     Asking  your  and  Mrs.  G 's 

forgiveness  for  my  carelessness  in  not  answering  sooner, 

I  remain  yours, 

D.  Allison. 

This  gentleman,  whose  letter  I  will  give,  was  sent  to  me  by 
one  of  the  leading  men  of  our  city.  He  had  baffled  all  the  doc- 
tors, and  it  was  between  the  undertaker  and  myself  who  should 
have  the  case.  Holy  Dr.  Cooper  diagnosed  his  case  correctly 
through  the  power,  and  said  it  was  his  stomach ;  so  he  decided  to 
go  under  our  treatment.  His  condition  was  indeed  terrible;  he 
never  knew  when  he  was  going  to  have  one  of  his  "  spells,"  as 
he  called  them.  They  were  liable  to  come  on  him  at  any  time. 
The  second  treatment  we  gave  him  he  had  a  spell  in  the  office ; 
his  tongue  protruded  from  his  mouth  and  turned  such  a  dark 
color,  and  he  trembled  from  his  head  to  his  feet.  It  was  awful 
while  it  lasted.  I  will  give  his  letter,  and  it  will  show  how  much 
he  improved. 

In  Camp  near  Tower  House,  Shasta  Co. 

Dear  Doctor  : — I  have  you  *'  on  the  list "  for  a  letter  for 
some  time,  and  if  you  are  going  to  get  it  before  I  go  home  I  must 
be  writing  it,  for  I  expect  to  leave  for  San  Francisco  the  latter 
part  of  the  week. 

My  three  months  are  a  little  more  than  up,  and  it  is  with 
pleasure  I  say  that  your  promises  have  been  more  than  fulfilled, 
for  I  am  stronger  and  better  in  every  way  than  I  have  been  at 
any  time  for  three  years  past.  I  feel  that  I  am  under  deep  obli- 
gations to  you,  and  I  hope  to  be  able  to  show  in  some  way  my 
appreciation  of  all  you  have  done  for  me.  You  are  at  liberty  to 
use  my  name  as  a  reference,  or  in  any  way  that  may  be  of  advan- 
tage to  you,  and  rest  assured  I  shall  not  fail  to  tell  what  you 
have  done  for  me,  and  hope  to  send  others  to  you.  We  are  in 
camp  in  a  delightful  spot,  and  I  wish  you  could  run  away  for  a 
while  and  enjoy  such  beauties  of  nature  as  surround  us  on  every 
hand.  Our  camp  is  on  the  banks  of  a  fine  stream,  in  a  beautiful 
wooded  canyon,  one-half  mile  from  the  stage  road  to  Trinity 
County.    I  have  been  here  two  weeks,  and  it  has  done  me  a  world 


54  Book  of  Knowledge. 

of  good.  When  I  tell  you  that  I  am  the  only  man  in  camp,  cut 
all  the  wood  for  stove  and  camp  fires;  take  six  or  eight  mile 
tramps  hunting  and  fishing;  have  a  daily  plunge  in  the  creek, 
etc.,  you  will  imagine  there  has  been  somewhat  of  a  change  in 
me.  But  I  suppose  Mr.  Weister  has  told  you  of  my  improvement. 
Poor  boy,  he  is  having  a  seige  of  it.  I  hope  you  will  soon  be 
through  with  him. 

Well,  I  hope  to  see  you  some  time  next  week,  and  until  then 
will  say  good-bye,  with  my  best  regards  and  good  wishes. 

Sincerely, 
Aug,  3,  1896.  (Signed)       H.  W.  Barnard. 

These  letters  from  a  very  dear  patient,  whom  I  love  dearly, 
I  wish  to  give  here. 

Berkeley,  October  24,  1902. 

My  Dear  Doctor  : — I  have  much  pleasure  in  sending  to  you 
the  verses  promised  some  little  time  ago.  Now,  my  dear  Doctor, 
I  would  like  to  speak  on  a  subject  of  great  interest  to  me,  to  your 
many  patients,  and  to  the  world  at  large.  The  subject — the  work 
you  are  about  to  publish:  could  you  not  give  space  to  those  of 
your  patients  who  wish  to  publicly  thank  you  for  the  wonder- 
ful things  you  have  done  for  them  ?  It  would  surely  give  me  the 
greatest  pleasure  if  you  would  accept  such  testimony  from  me 
in  behalf  of  my  family;  for  who,  amongst  all  your  patients,  can 
speak  with  greater  knowledge  of  your  wonderful  gift  and  power 
of  healing,  or  who  has  more  cause  for  gratitude? 

In  the  first  place  we  must  thank  you  for  the  return  to  health 
of  my  brother-in-law.  Let  me  explain.  You  know,  dear  doctor, 
the  condition  of  his  health  when  he  first  came  to  you  for  treat- 
ment three  years  ago.  He  had  then  been  under  treatment  for 
some  years  with  several  of  our  most  eminent  physicians ;  they  de- 
clared him  to  have  consumption,  his  lungs  perforated,  and  entirely 
incurable.  He  was  able  to  walk  only  a  few  yards  without  having 
violent  spasms  of  coughing.  Then  he  came  to  you,  and  you  cured 
him  in  a  few  months  by  your  wonderful  power  and  without  the 
aid  of  any  drugs  whatever.  He  was  in  such  a  perfect  condition 
that  he  went  up  to  Cape  Nome,  mining.  He  requested  me  before 
he  left  to  write  his  thanks  to  you. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  55 

Then  you  remember  my  little  son,  whom  we  feared  would  be 
forever  an  invalid,  and  you  restored  him  to  health  and  to  us. 
He  is  now  a  lovely,  strong,  and  healthy  boy. 

Then,  again,  what  can  I  not  say  of  myself?  I  who  have 
now  the  first  ray  of  hope  after  so  rnany  (eleven)  years  of  intense 
suffering  from  concussion  of  the  brain.  Can  I  not  tell  how  you, 
with  your  great  power  of  personal  electricity  alone,  have  drawn 
the  congested  matter  of  years  standing  from  my  brain  and  spine 
— drawn  it  directly  through  the  pores  of  my  body  on  to  cloths, 
that  any  one  could  see  and  no  one  could  even  attempt  to  deny? 
Am  I  not  so  much  better  that  I  can  write  this  to  you  ?  Surely  there 
are  many  who  feel  the  same  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  wonderful 
things  you  do  for  them.  And  now,  my  dear  Doctor,  let  me  thank 
you  at  this  moment.  You  who  are  the  soul  of  generosity,  the  soul 
of  charity,  and  the  soul  of  love :  thank  you  for  the  kindly  interest 
you  have  ever  shown,  and  thank  you  for  our  present  state  of 
good  health. 

Once  more,  my  dear  Doctor,  believe  me  to  be 
Your  loving  friend  and  patient, 
^  (Signed)         Mrs.  M.  J.  Doolin. 

Berkeley,  February  20,  1903. 
My  Dear  Doctor: — I  must  tell  you  of  the  great  pleasure 
I  experienced  in  our  little  conversation  on  Wednesday.  Such 
moments  are  indeed  very  dear  to  me,  as  away  from  discordant 
surroundings  (why  do  I  sometimes  feel  those  discordant  vibra- 
tions through  and  over  those  terrible  partitions)  there  is  com- 
munion of  spirit  and  interchange  of  thought.  I  am  just  writing 
as  your  telephone  rings.  And  now,  dear  friend  and  doctor,  I  will 
try  to  tell  you  what  you  have  done  for  me.  It  is  now  eleven  years 
and  three  months  since  the  terrible  accident  in  which  I  sustained 
concussion  of  the  brain  and  such  severe  injuries  to  my  spine  that  I 
was  confined  to  my  bed  for  a  year.  I  was  wheeled  in  a  chair  dur- 
ing two  years.  I  suffered  complete  lapse  of  memory  and  of 
knowledge  of  persons  and  surroundings.  From  the  moment  of 
the  accident,  for  eleven  and  a  half  years,  I  have  never  been  able 
to  take  any  pleasure  in  life,  never  been  left  alone  for  one  moment, 
and  never  recovered  my  memory  of  places  and  things;  though 


56  Book  of  Knowledge. 

I  could  walk,  I  could  not  find  my  way  from  one  point  to  another. 
And  now,  my  dear  benefactor,  what  do  I  experience  after  six 
short  months  of  treatment  from  you,  through  your  most  wonder- 
ful and  heaven-sent  power?  I  am  perfectly  cured,  and  perfectly 
well.  Last  week  I  went  with  a  lady  friend  through  the  entire 
business  portion  of  San  Francisco,  buying  for  her  summer  ward- 
robe. We  crossed  the  Bay  home,  I  helped  in  the  arrangements 
for  dinner,  and  experienced  not  the  least  fatigue  or  inconvenience. 
Remember  this  is  the  first  time  in  eleven  years  that  I  have  been 
able  to  do  any  such  thing.  Indeed,  I  have  never  even  attended  an 
entertainment  or  concert  in  all  that  time. 

Now,  how  am  I  to  thank  you,  dear  Doctor?  Dear  little 
Doctor,  Nellie  Beighle!  Words  are  all  too  small,  for  you  have 
indeed  renewed  in  me  life  and  hope,  and  therefore  given  new  life 
and  hope  to  my  dear,  faithful  husband  who  has  given  all  he 
possessed  in  life  in  trying  to  benefit  me.  You  have  the  written 
testimony  of  six  of  our  most  noted  physicians  that  I  was  per- 
fectly incurable,  and  that  I  would  be  a  physical  wreck  to  the  end 
of  my  life.  And  now,  dear  Doctor,  I  would  publish  before  the 
world  your  great,  heaven-sent  healing  power,  and  subscribe  my- 
self with  my  husband. 

Your  most  grateful  and  loving  patient, 

(Signed)     Mrs.  M.  J.  Doolin. 

San  Francisco,  August  26,  1892. 
Dear  Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle: — Words  cannot  express  my  grati- 
tude for  the  benefit  I  received  while  under  your  treatment. 

Your  power  to  me  has  been  simply  marvellous,  as  I  have  wit- 
nessed so  many  cures  performed  by  you  which  were  pronounced 
hopeless  over  and  over  again  by  others.  The  more  I  think  of  it 
the  more  I  am  convinced  that  the  gift  has  been  wisely  bestowed, 
for  you  give  as  freely  as  you  receive,  without  distinction  of  race 
or  color.  And  as  you  go  from  us  with  your  precious  healing 
powers,  you  also  go  laden  with  our  love  and  wishes  for  success, 
which  you  so  richly  deserve  personally  as  well  as  professionally. 

Lovingly, 
(Signed)     Mrs.  Ludington. 

2512  Fillmore  Street. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  57 

San  Francisco,  September  29,  1890. 

Dear  Dr.  Beighle: — You  must  excuse  my  not  calling  upon 
you  oftener  to  express  my  thanks  to  you.  Many  and  constant 
engagements  must  be  my  excuse.  But  I  feel  my  obligation  to 
you,  and  my  appreciation  of  your  services  to  Mrs.  Henshell 
just  as  much  as  if  I  called  every  day  to  speak  of  them  to  you. 
Your  treatment  is  inexplicably  powerful  in  its  effects  upon  her, 
except  upon  the  principle  that  you  are  aided  in  a  way  that  is 
not  ordinarily  understood  among  medical  practitioners,  not  to 
speak  of  men  in  general.  The  effects  I  speak  of  are  immediate 
as  well  as  powerful.     It  has   seemed,   during  the   last  twelve 

months,  as  if,  whenever  Mrs.  H is  out  of  health,  she  has 

nothing  to  do  but  come  and  see  you,  and  she  returns  to  her  home 
a  new  being. 

I  should  like  to  know  how  it  comes  to  pass  that  you  are  thus 
privileged  to  have  access  to  the  fountain  of  life,  but  probably 
you  scarcely  know  how  it  is  yourself.  However,  the  fact  is  there, 
you  renew  Mrs.  Henshell's  youth  as  I  have  never  known  any 
one  else  or  anything  else  to  do.  I  am  glad  that  there  are  some 
powers  that  worldly  wealth  cannot  purchase,  and  I  am  glad,  too, 
from  what  Mrs.  H so  often  says  of  your  beautiful  and  gen- 
erous nature,  that  you  possess  one  of  them. 
I  am,  yours  very  truly, 

(Signed)     Rev.  John  Henshell. 
(Church  of  England). 

San  Jose,  Cal.,  September,  9,  1892. 

Dear  Doctor  Beighle: — Hearing  that  you  have  been  re- 
ceiving testimonials  frotn  a  number  you  have  cured,  I  take  pleas- 
ure in  telling  of  what  I  consider  a  wonderful  cure  of  my  wife  some 
eight  years  ago. 

It  was  a  critical  period  of  her  life.  We  had  several  first- 
class  physicians  prescribe  for  her,  but  none  seemed  to  do  her  any 
good,  and  she  was  failing  rapidly  until  kind  Providence  directed 
us  to  you.  After  one  week's  treatment  by  you,  there  was  a  re- 
markable change  for  the  better,  and  it  was  not  long  thereafter 
before  she  was  entirely  cured  of  the  disease  which  no  physician 
seemed  to  understand.    Your  diagnosis  of  the  case  was  perfect  in 


58  Book  of  Knowledge. 

every  respect,  and  I  feel  like  saying  to  you,  "  God  bless  you  for 
what  you  have  done  for  my  wife." 

Sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)     J.  Z.  Anderson. 

(The  above  letter  was  written  by  the  father  of  Lieut.  Gover- 
nor Alden  Anderson.) 

Berkeley,  August  i8,  1892. 

Dear  Doctor  Beighle: — I  am  unwilling  you  should  leave 
California  (as  I  learn  you  propose  doing)  without  a  slight  testi- 
monial from  me,  and  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of  benefits  re- 
ceived that  mere  gold  can  never  repay.  My  present  freedom  from 
pain,  with  the  cheering  prospect  of  a  complete  restoration  to 
health  in  the  near  future,  is,  I  believe,  entirely  due  to  your  won- 
derful healing  power. 

For  several  years  I  have  been  a  great  suiferer  from  a  diseased 
liver  and  its  attendant  ills.  The  last  two  years  I  have  been  unable 
to  attend  to  my  business — much  of  the  time  confined  to  my  bed, 
suffering  most  excrutiating  pains  in  the  spinal  cord  and  sciatic 
nerve.  Physicians  had  exerted  all  their  skill  in  their  vain  efforts 
to  cure.  Though  somewhat  relieved  at  times,  and  even  able  to 
get  about  a  little  with  the  aid  of  a  cane,  the  slightest  over-exertion 
was  sure  to  bring  on  a  relapse  to  my  old  torture. 

All  my  friends  considered  my  case  beyond  the  reach  of  medical 
science.  I  had  seemingly  exhausted  the  whole  catalogue  of 
remedies  in  the  fruitless  struggle  for  relief,  and  had  long  given 
up  the  entire  use  of  medicine  as  utterly  useless  in  my  case. 

It  was  only  three  months  ago  I  heard  of  you  and  the  wonder- 
ful cures  you  were  performing,  and  at  once  placed  myself  under 
your  treatment.  Though  commenced  with  little  faith  or  hope  on 
my  part,  the  result  was  little  less  than  marvellous.  The  first  two 
weeks  I  received  vour  treatment  daily  (Sundays  excepted),  after- 
wards on  alternate  days.  At  the  expiration  of  six  weeks  (at 
which  time  you  had  predicted  a  cure)  my  liver — ^badly  ulcerated 
for  years — appeared  to  be  perfectly  sound  and  in  healthy  action. 
My  spine  was  all  right,  the  sciatic  pains  were  gone  and  a  thrill  of 
life,  unfelt  for  years,  pervaded  my  whole  being. 

Now,  just  how  or  by  what  Power  this  was  done  I  know  not 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  59 

but  this  I  do  know:  that  whereas  I  was  helplessly,  hopelessly 
sick,  I  am  now,  if  not  a  well  man,  at  least  on  the  high  road  to 
health,  with  every  prospect  of  retaining  it.  True,  your  treatment 
necessarily  still  left  me  weak  and  enfeebled  by  my  long  debilitat- 
ing sickness,  but  I  was  free  from  pain,  and  felt  altogether  a  new 
man — or  an  old  one  pretty  well  made  over.  It  seemed  too  won- 
derful to  be  true,  or  at  least  to  last.  But  as  I  rapidly  gained  my 
strength  and  flesh,  with  returning  appetite,  and  no  return  of  my 
old  enemy,  I  wanted  to — well,  I  felt  like  holding  a  hallelujah 
meeting  all  by  myself,  and  a  pretty  enthusiastic  one,  too. 

That  a  change  for  the  better  has  been  suddenly  wrought  in 
me,  all  my  friends  can  testify.  They  simply  know  the  fact,  and 
can  only  wonder  and  say,  *'  How  strange !  " 

And  now,  dear  Doctor,  allow  me  to  wish  you  God-speed  in 
your  proposed  journey  and  the  full  fruition  of  all  your  hopes. 
And  be  assured  that  of  the  host  of  friends  you  leave  behind, 
whose  kindly  wishes  will  follow  you  wherever  you  may  go,  none 
will  hold  you  in  more  grateful  remembrance  than 
Your  sincere  friend, 

(Signed)     James  Stratton. 

Dr.  Nellie  Beighle. 

Dear  Doctor  : — After  having  suffered  about  three  years  with 
my  head,  and  going  to  all  the  best  doctors,  who  relieved  me  only 
for  a  few  days,  I  was  recommended  to  you. 

I  was  not  to  be  trusted  out  alone,  as  I  would  fall  wherever  I 
was.    And  now  I  consider  myself  a  well  woman,  thanks  to  the 
dear  "  Little  Doctor,"  and  the  God  who  gave  her  the  power. 
Sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)     Mrs.  John  F.  Snow. 
(Mission  and  12th  Sts.) 

San  Francisco,  August  21,  1892. 
Dr.  Nellie  Beighle, 

Dear  Madam  : — I  herewith  wish  to  acknowledge  the  great 
benefit  I  received  from  your  treatment,  you  having  cured  me  of 
a  disease  of  which  my  family  physician  was  entirely  unaware. 
I  deem  your  diagnosis  as  something  wonderful,  and  I  am  en- 


6o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

joying  better  health  than  for  many  years,  and  I  feel  that  such 
could  not  have  been  the  case  had  those  gall-stones  remained  in 
my  system  until  this  time. 

I  hear  of  many  wonderful  cures  through  your  mediumship, 
and  you  must  be  somewhat  elated  when  you  look  over  your 
record  the  past  fourteen  years. 

What  shall  we  say  of  Christians  who  claim  to  follow  Christ, 
but  have  not  the  power  to  heal,  and  it  is  left  to  the  much-despised 
Spiritual  medium  to  do  His  work?  He  taught  the  disciples  to 
heal,  but  who  ever  heard  of  an  orthodox  preacher  curing  the 
simplest  ailment  by  the  simple  touch  of  his  hand? 

I  hope  that  right  hand  of  yours  will  continue  to  give  relief 
to  many  sufferers,  and  that  your  other  spiritual  powers  will  be  in- 
strumental in  removing  the  dark  pall  of  superstition  that  has  long 
hung  over  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people. 
Most  gratefully  and  truly, 

(Signed)     Wm.  Lyons. 

San  Francisco,  October  21,  1892. 
Dr.  Beighle  : — I  can  assure  you  it  gives  me  a  great  pleasure 
to  be  able  to  say  a  few  words  about  your  wonderful  mediumship 
and  wonderful  spirit  power.  I  am  very  much  pleased  in  being 
one  of  your  patients.  I  know  you  have  helped  me  wonderfully. 
Being  a  Spiritualist,  I  am  better  capable  of  appreciating  the 
great  work  you  are  doing  for  suffering  humanity;  and  doing  it 
so  nobly  and  faithfully,  you  deserve  great  credit.  You  treat 
everybody  alike.  You  make  no  distinction  between  rich  and  poor, 
and  you  teach  the  world  a  lesson  that  speaks  volumes  for  itself. 

Yours  truly, 

(Signed)     Fred  Anderson. 

Alameda,  August  18,  1892. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle: — ^A  little  over  five  years  ago  I  was 
brought  to  you  for  treatment,  as  I  could  not  get  to  your  office 
alone. 

I  was  in  a  very  bad  condition,  suffering  with  my  kidneys, 
bladder,  and  rheumatism  in  my  arms  and  shoulders.  I  had  been 
subject  to  sick  headache  all  my  life,  and  was  frequently  taken 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  6i 

with  a  choking  spell  very  much  resembling  croup.  In  fact,  all 
doctors  who  attended  me  when  suffering  from  that  cause  pro- 
nounced it  croup. 

You  told  me  differently  and  explained  the  cause.  You  said 
you  could  remove  it,  and  you  did.  I  can  assure  you,  I  was  never 
so  surprised  in  my  life  when  you  told  me  I  was  affected  in  that 
manner,  as  you  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  me  before. 

Since  your  treatment  I  have  been  entirely  well,  and  have  full 
confidence  that  I  will  never  have  a  return  of  either  sick  head- 
ache or  that  choking  in  my  throat. 

I  am  now  sixty-five  years  of  age  and  can  assure  you,  dear 
madam,  that  there  can  be  no  healthier  man  living  than  your  ever 

Grateful  friend, 

(Signed)     James  Lamb. 
2040  San  Antonio  Ave.  near  Chestnut. 

San  Francisco,  February  8,  1892. 
To  all  Whom  it  May  Concern  : — 

Know  that  I,  the  undersigned,  was  doing  business  in  the 
town  of  Ophir,  Placer  County,  Cal.,  the  year  1890.  The  month 
of  July  I  was  sunstruck,  and  within  six  weeks  after  that  time 
I  was  overcome  with  the  heat  twice.  During  this  time  I  would 
stagger  when  I  attempted  to  walk,  as  though  I  were  drunk.  I 
became  so  weak  I  went  to  San  Francisco  for  medical  aid.    I  called 

on   Dr.  ;  he   experimented  on  me   four   days  and   called 

my  complaint  nervous  prostration ;  said  I  should  move  into  a  cool 
climate.  I  came  to  San  Francisco  finally  and  started  business, 
with  the  belief  that  I  could  build  myself  up,  as  I  had  an  un- 
natural appetite.  I  was  treated  by  the  doctor  two  months  and 
continued  to  get  weaker  all  the  time — my  head  and  back  ached. 
Some  nights  I  could  not  sleep  at  all  the  pain  was  so  severe.  I 
went  to  other  doctors  during  the  summer  of  1891,  but  could 
not  get  a  positive  answer  whether  they  could  give  me  any  relief 
or  not,  but  called  it  nervous  prostration.  I  finally  became  so 
weak  that  I  could  not  raise  my  head.  Then  I  quit  business,  as  I 
believed,  forever. 

I  heard  of  the  Oriental  Medical  Syndicate.  I  went  there. 
The  chief  examiner  said  I  could  be  cured.    He  had  me  go  to  see 


62  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  surgeon-in-chief.  He  asked  many  questions,  and  finally  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  my  trouble  was  nervous  prostration,  and  if 
I  would  play  gentleman  six  or  eight  years,  do  nothing  to  ex- 
cite my  nerves  or  brain,  and  take  medicine  all  the  time,  I  might 
get  well — nothing  sure.  I  said  to  myself,  "  Good-bye  to  medical 
science."  A  short  time  after  that  I  called  on  a  friend,  Mr.  Lamb, 
master-mechanic  of  the  P.  &  O.  R.  R.  In  talking  with  him,  he 
advised  me  to  go  to  Doctor  Nellie  Beighle.  Mr.  Lamb  told  me 
what  condition  he  was  in,  and  how  well  Dr.  Beighle  described  his 
condition  after  examination ;  that  he  began  to  take  treatments  of 
the  Doctor  at  once,  and  was  able  to  go  to  work  in  a  very  short 
time,  and  that  the  Doctor  diagnosed  diseases  without  asking 
questions.  When  I  learned  that  was  the  case,  I  went  to  Dr. 
Beighle  the  same  day,  as  I  believed  there  was  a  chance  for  me  yet. 
The  Doctor  examined  me,  told  me  where  the  seat  of  my  trouble 
was  and  the  cause  of  same ;  she  said  she  would  cure  me  in  six  or 
eight  weeks.  I  began  treatments  the  second  day  of  December, 
and  in  eight  weeks'  time  I  felt  as  well  as  I  ever  did  in  my  life; 
and  furthermore,  I  gained  ten  pounds  in  flesh  during  the  treat- 
ments. The  Doctor  says  that  in  three  months  from  this  time  I  will 
be  safe  in  knocking  a  man  down ;  I  can  do  it  now,  and  don't  you 
forget  it. 

I  shall  bless  the  day  as  long  as  I  live  that  I  went  to  Doctor 
Nellie  Beighle.  She  saved  me  from  a  premature  grave,  or,  worse, 
from  being  a  raving  maniac,  which  some  of  the  doctors  said 
would  be  my  fate. 

I  would  advise  any  one  who  is  suffering  for  the  want  of  proper 
treatment  and  who  would  like  to  get  well  to  go  to  Dr.  Nellie 
Beighle.    I  am  sure  that  if  any  one  can  effect  cures  she  can. 

(Signed)     H.   Hop  wood. 

P.  S. — Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  with  this 
letter  or  statement  as  you  like. 

Respectfully, 

H.  HopwooD. 

San  Francisco,  Feb.  28,  1901. 
My  Dear  Friend: — ^Just  a  word  to  say  how  shocked  I  am 
to  see  the  death  of  your  dear  husband  as  I  glance  at  the  morning 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  63 

paper  before  retiring.  Oh,  my  heart  goes  out  to  you,  and  I 
wonder  so  many  things — if  his  illness  was  of  long  duration, 
and  if  you  are  well  yourself.  I  had  not  thought  of  death  as 
coming  to  you  and  your  loved  ones,  for  it  seemed  as  though  you 
would  be  given  power  to  hold  them  back — and  yet — would  you 
do  so,  when  you  have  had  such  sweet  visions  of  the  better  world, 
and  your  faith  is  so  strong? 

I  have  promised  myself  that  I  would  coime  in  and  see  you,  ever 

since  Mr.  H told  me  of  your  return  to  the  city,  but  now  I 

shall  surely  do  so  in  the  near  future,  for  I  am  so  sorry  for  you! 

My  husband  joins  me  in  kindest  regards,  and  believe  me, 
Yours  truly, 

M.  E.  H. 

The  above  letter  came  from  a  very  dear  friend  whose  husband 
was  a  patient  at  one  time.  In  her  letter  she  said  she  had  not 
thought  of  death  coming  to  me.  Dear  readers,  I  have  not  been 
saved  any  sorrow.  I  have  had  to  go  through  it  all  as  well  as  you, 
and  if  you  only  knew  what  I  had  to  go  through  when  my  husband 
met  with  the  accident  that  ultimately  caused  his  death.  But 
it  has  all  proved  a  blessing  in  disguise.  As  I  often  tell  my 
patients,  all  sickness,  all  sorrow,  proves  a  blessing  in  some  man- 
ner. In  sickness  or  sorrow,  when  mortals  cannot  help  us,  we 
turn  to  God,  calling  on  Him  and  our  loved  ones  who  have  passed 
out  of  this  life  for  help,  thus  opening  up  an  avenue  to  the  life 
beyond. 

San  Francisco,  March  28,  1901. 

My  Dear  Dr.  Nellie: — Your  dear  little  missive  arrived  this 
morning.  I  am  so  sorry  we  are  to  be  deprived  of  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  this  week,  for  really  it  is  an  inspiration  for  us  to 
be  with  you,  but  next  week  I  sincerely  hope  nothing  will  prevent 
your  coming.    My  husband  will  come  home  then,  too. 

Right  here  I  must  jot  down  these  lines  by  Milton.  They 
have  been  in  my  mind  so  much  of  late,  and  I  always  think  of  you; 
they  seem  to  describe  you  so  perfectly.    Here  they  are : 

"  So  dear  to  heaven  is  saintly  chastity 
That  when  a  soul  is  found  sincerely  so, 


64  Book  of  Knowledge. 

A  thousand  liveried  angels  lackey  her 
Driving  far  off  each  thing  of  sin  and  guilt, 
And  in  clear  dream  and  solemn  vision 
Tell  her  of  things  that  no  gross  ear  can  hear; 
Till  oft  converse  with  heavenly  habitants 
Begins  to  cast  a  beam  on  the  outward  shape, 
The  unpolluted  temple  of  the  mind, 
And  turns  it  by  degrees  to  the  soul's  essence, 
Till  all  be  made  immortal." 

Don't  you  think  they  were  intended  for  you? 
We  all  enjoyed  our  little  excursion  Saturday  so  much;  the 
children  have  said  to  me  so  often,  "  Mamma,  you  will  take  us  to 
see  Dr.  Nellie  again,  won't  you  ?  "    Take  good  care  of  yourself. 
I  am  with  love,  yours  affectionately, 

(Signed). 

(I  omit  the  name  of  this  dear  friend,  but  I  must  put  her  letter 
in  our  book,  to  show  her  how  much  I  appreciated  it.) 

A  great  many  patients  call  me  Dr.  Nellie,  leaving  off  the  last 
name. 

How  many  sorrows  and  afflictions  are  placed  in  our  pathway, 
what  fiery  furnaces  have  we  to  be  put  through,  to  open  up  our  sym- 
pathy to  those  we  meet  in  sorrow  and  bereavement,  so  that  our 
souls  shall  expand !  How  many  times  have  I  cried  aloud,  in  years 
gone  by,  "  Oh !  God  and  angel  loved  ones,  have  you  deserted 
me  ?  "  And  when  I  thought  every  ray  of  light  was  taken  from  me, 
the  God-power  and  holy  angels  to  whom  I  had  appealed  would 
give  me  the  clairvoyant  power,  and  I  would  see  the  room  filled 
with  forget-me-nots,  showing  me  that  I  was  not  forgotten,  but 
learning  the  earth  trials  and  sorrows ;  becoming  a  teacher  of  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  showing  me  I  must  suffer  to  be  able  to  sympa- 
thize with  those  who  would  need  my  encouragement  in  the  years 
to  come. 

Indeed,  I  have  seen  all  the  sad  part  of  life,  dear  readers ;  many 
of  you  see  only  the  front  of  the  stage,  but  I  have  always  had  to 
witness  the  back  of  it.  Not  alone  my  troubles,  but  those  of  the 
thousands  whom  the  God-power  has  sent  me;  and  not  alone  to 


Record  oj  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  65 

heal  the  physical,  but  the  mental,  and  the  soul.  I  am  able  to  thank 
God  and  my  Sacred  Mother  and  Holy  Dr.  Cooper  that  I  was 
selected  to  do  their  holy  work.  (But  because  ye  are  not  of  the 
world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world.  St.  John  XV. 
19.)  Again  and  again  I  thank  them  for  the  open  gate  of  sym- 
pathy between  the  people  and  myself,  for  it  has  been  the  means 
of  making  all  better  whom  I  have  been  permitted  to  know.  Both 
the  poor  and  the  rich,  all  need  the  God  love  and  protection  some 
time  in  their  lives.  I  have  never  met  any  one  but  the  God  spark 
was  in  them,  and  it  needed  only  an  encouraging  word  to  bring 
them  to  realize  it.  The  most  bitter  skeptic,  the  most  ignorant, 
or  the  most  repulsive  beings  with  whom  I  have  come  in  contact 
realize,  before  they  leave,  that  it  is  God's  power  that  is  with  me ; 
and  I  have  had  them  say  to  me,  "  I  want  to  be  a  better  man  since 
I  met  you,"  or  "  I  want  to  be  a  better  woman ;  "  proving  that  when 
we  recognize  the  higher  spiritual  laws,  we  not  only  help  our- 
selves, but  all  with  whom  we  come  in  contact. 

Time  and  time  again  I  am  consulted  by  the  patients  about 
business  and  how  it  is  best  to  proceed  with  it.  I  have  had  women 
come  into  my  office  and  say  to  me  (they  were  skeptics,  too), 
"  Doctor,  will  you  ask  your  Holy  Power  what  I  shall  do  about  my 
girl  or  my  boy  ?  "  The  Holy  Doctor  or  my  Sacred  Mother  would 
advise  them  for  the  best.  In  the  first  place,  allow  me  to  say  a 
few  words  here  about  the  father,  mother,  and  children.  Holy 
Doctor  Cooper  always  advises  complete  chumship  between  the 
parents  and  children.  We  know  they  are  all  right  when  small, 
but  when  a  boy  or  girl  turns  into  manhood  or  womanhood  then 
is  the  time  for  full  confidence.  Chumship  is  to  be  established. 
Fathers  and  mothers,  you  forget  your  duty  so  often  at  those 
times.  My  advice  to  you  is  to  make  your  home  a  home,  not 
with  fine  furniture  alone,  so  you  cannot  use  it  except  on  certain 
occasions,  but  throw  your  doors  open,  let  the  sunshine  of  your 
girls  and  boys  join  with  God's  love,  and  irradiate  your  homes. 
Fill  your  homes  with  music;  join  with  your  boys  and  girls  in 
making  your  homes  cheerful;  buy  them  games  and  play  with 
them;  teach  them  to  play  cards  and  play  with  them;  better  tire 
your  physical  being  than  to  allow  your  boys  to  go  into  other  homes 
for  amusement.  It  does  not  take  them  long  to  be  drawn  away 
5 


66  Book  of  Knowledge. 

from  you,  but  sometimes  it  takes  a  long  time  to  bring  them  back, 
but  by  being  a  chum  with  them,  by  entering  into  all  their  pleas- 
ures, you  fill  your  own  lives  with  riches.  I  know  a  family  in  Ala- 
meda; the  father  came  to  us  for  treatment.  He  had  malarial 
rheumatism,  and  was,  indeed,  in  a  very  bad  condition.  We  cured 
him,  and  from  that  on  I  became  very  intimate  with  his  dear  fam- 
ily, which  consisted  of  a  charming  wife,  four  sons,  and  one 
daughter.  The  sons  are  young  men  now.  I  want  to  tell  you  that 
I  always  feel  as  though  I  had  a  tonic  when  I  go  over  and  spend 
Saturday  night  and  Sunday  with  them.  The  whole  family  play 
cards,  and  I  play  with  them.  It  is  so  different  from  what  my  father 
was  in  his  home.  Sunday  the  curtains  were  drawn  down,  and  you 
could  only  read  the  Bible.  My  sisters  tell  me  that  they  did  not 
dare  speak  to  my  father.  He  was  one  of  the  props  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  and  all  his  children  stood  in  awe  of  him.  But 
let  us  turn  again  to  this  family,  where  perfect  chumship  exists. 
The  three  older  boys  are  now  holding  responsible  positions,  but 
the  father  and  mother  are  boy  and  girl  with  them.  The  whole 
family  are  one  in  pleasure  or  sorrow.  I  tell  you,  friends,  in  their 
God-loved  home — not  the  old-time  God,  but  the  new  universal 
Love,  which,  when  we  define  it,  means  honesty,  integrity, 
confidence — God  is  with  them  and  will  be  glad  to  welcome 
them  into  their  higher  home  where  chumship  will  continue  to 
reign. 

Another  family,  of  Oakland,  who  are  patients,  have  a  son 
who  smokes  cigarettes.  His  mother  asked  me  if  I  would  ask  the 
power  to  cure  him  of  the  habit ;  he  was  with  her  when  she  asked 
me,  so  I  turned  to  the  boy  and  asked  him  if  his  father  smoked. 
He  said  his  father  was  smoking  all  the  time.  Well,  I  told  him 
to  keep  on  and  smoke  as  long  as  his  father  did ;  that  I  had  raised 
my  dear  children  to  do  anything  they  saw  me  doing,  and  if 
father  and  mother  would  look  at  it  in  that  way  they  would  have 
the  best  children  in  the  world,  if  they  would  all  start  right  in 
life. 

If  I  were  rich  enough  I  would  like  to  put  a  sanctuary  and 
one  of  Edison's  phonographs  in  every  home.  Music  harmonizes ; 
it  rests  the  tired  brain  and  the  sanctuary  rests  the  soul,  for  there 
you  are  in  communion  with  God  and  the  angel  loved  ones. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures,  67 

Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which  was  given  thee  by 
prophesy,  with  the  laying  on  of  hands,     i  Timothy  IV,  14. 

Meditate  upon  these  things;  give  thyself  wholly  to  them;  that 
thy  proHting  may  appear  to  all.     1  Timothy  IV,  15. 

Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine;  continue  in 
them;  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself,  and  them  that 
hear  thee,     i  Timothy  IV,  16. 

Now,  dear  friends  and  readers,  I  want  to  write  just  a  little 
about  myself,  that  is,  my  power  of  endurance.  If  I  appear  con- 
ceited to  you  I  shall  be  sorry,  for  I  do  not  mean  to  be.  I  know 
that  ever  since  this  divine  power  has  been  with  me  I  am  only 
the  instrument.  It  is  not  /,  but  the  God-power  working  through 
me.  The  engine  cannot  run  alone,  but  in  the  hands  of  a  competent 
engineer  it  works  wonders.  So  it  is  with  the  psychics  who  are 
chosen  to  enlighten  the  people.  In  looking  over  the  records  of 
all  the  instruments  for  the  divine  use  I  find  that  I  have  been 
more  closely  in  touch  with  it  than  any  other  psychic  that  is  on 
record.  I  have  been  twenty-three  years  in  my  office,  healing  the 
sick  and  giving  messages  from  the  angel  loved  ones  to  those  who 
have  been  patients.  In  all  that  time  I  have  had  but  eleven  months 
vacation,  counting  every  day.  Until  within  a  few  years,  I  treated 
evenings,  Sundays  and  all.  I  think  I  have  done  without  sleep 
and  food  more  than  any  other  individual.  My  "  God-power  " 
left  me  twice;  the  first  time  it  was  as  a  lesson  to  the  family; 
the  second  time  it  was  to  give  me  additional  power. 

When  the  power  first  came  to  me  I  was  told  by  Holy  Doctor 
Cooper  that  if  I  would  always  keep  myself  as  pure  as  I  was  at 
that  time  the  fountain  of  life  would  never  be  empty.  I  will 
leave  that  to  my  dear  ones  to  say  if  I  have  done  so.  The  first 
time  the  "  Power  "  left,  I  tried  to  think  in  what  I  had  erred, 
but  the  dear  "  voice  "  said,  "  You  are  not  at  fault ;  it  is  only  a 
lesson ;  we  will  come  to  you  again."  Oh,  how  lonely  I  was  with- 
out the  loved  influence!  It  remained  away  for  nearly  three 
months,  which  to  me  was  an  eternity.  Mr.  Beighle  one  day  in 
lifting  a  piece  of  carpet  wrenched  his  back  and  he  was  brought 
home.  I  sent  for  Dr.  McNutt,  he  being  our  old  physician  prior 
to  my  having  the  power,  but  Dr.  McNutt  was  out  of  town,  and 
the  physician  he  left  in  his  place  came  instead.    When  the  doctor 


68  Book  of  Knowledge. 

came  into  the  room  he  looked  at  my  dear  husband  and  then 
turned  around  to  me  and  said,  "  You  can  do  more  for  him  than 
I  can."  I  had  never  seen  the  man  before,  and  wondered  at  his 
speaking  in  that  manner.  I  answered  him,  saying,  ''  I  cannot 
now,  doctor;  there  was  a  time  when  I  could,  but  not  nov//'  (I 
realized  afterward  that  the  doctor  was  clairvoyant).  He  left 
the  room,  saying,  *"  You  must  do  for  him;  /  cannot.''  After  he 
had  gone  out  I  said  to  my  husband,  "  How  strange  the  doctor 
acted!  George,  I  wonder  if  the  power  would  come  to  me?  I 
have  tried  so  many  times,  but  it  is  not  in  my  arm."  1  laid  my 
hand  on  his  back,  and  felt  a  little  sensation  in  my  hand,  and,  as 
I  looked  at  my  husband,  I  saw  that  he  too  felt  the  power.  I 
tried  again  and  there  was  a  little  more;  and  the  third  time 
I  tried — well,  God  be  praised !  the  power  was  again  with  me.  I 
knelt  by  the  bedside  of  my  husband,  and  I  know  that  no  human 
being  ever  offered  up  a  prayer  more  fervently  than  I  did,  and  I 
know  my  husband  felt  near  to  God  and  the  angels,  too.  In  my 
humbleness,  I  promised  that  never  again  would  I  think  of  wealth, 
that  is,  money ;  and  that  my  life  would  be  devoted  to  the  Creator, 
the  angel  loved  ones,  and  humanity  as  long  as  I  remained  in  the 
body. 

Most  singular,  but  the  second  time  they  gave  it  back  to  me 
was  through  my  husband  being  hurt  again,  and  ever  since  it  has 
been  with  me ;  and  now  I  know  it  will  never  leave  me  until  Holy 
Doctor  Cooper  is  permitted  to  take  me  home.  Who  has  a  better 
right  to  come  for  me  than  he  who  had  been  my  constant  guide 
and  teacher?  Even  those  who  are  so  skeptical  listen  attentively 
to  every  word  which  he  utters  to  me,  and  are  guided  by  it. 
He  always  speaks  in  such  a  gentle  voice  to  me.  Indeed,  many 
times  when  I  have  been  nervous,  and  sometimes,  I  think,  very 
hateful,  he  always  answers  me  so  gently  and  so  courteously  that 
I  would  vow  I  never  would  get  impatient  again,  yet  I  would — but 
he  always  excused  me. 

In  writing  of  my  power  of  endurance,  I  wish  to  say  that  I 
have  always  been  in  the  office  every  day,  healing  the  sick,  treating 
from  forty  to  seventy  patients  daily,  besides  examining  those  who 
wanted  to  go  under  treatment.  Once  I  dislocated  my  treating 
hand  (which  of  course  is  the  right  hand),  dislocating  three  fingers 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures,  69 

and  thumb.  I  had  made  an  engagement  one  Saturday  afternoon 
with  some  friends  to  go  bicycle  riding.  Holy  Dr.  Cooper  told 
me  not  to  go  out,  but  to  send  a  message  saying  I  could  not  go ; 
but  I  wanted  to  go  and  disobeyed,  and  the  consequence  was  we 
had  not  ridden  a  dozen  blocks  before  I  fell  from  the  wheel  and  dis- 
located my  fingers  and  thumb.  I  was  at  that  time  treating  about 
sixty  patients  a  day,  and  there  were  fifteen  of  those  who  would 
have  passed  out  of  the  body  if  I  had  not  been  there  to  treat  them. 
I  did  not  think  of  the  pain  I  was  in,  but  I  did  think  of  the  patients 
and  my  disobedience  to  Holy  Dr.  Cooper.  When  I  returned  to 
the  house  the  dear  doctor  told  me  what  to  do,  but  I  tell  you,  my 
dear  readers,  I  paid  well  for  my  disobeying.  Monday  morning 
found  me  at  the  office,  and  I  treated  my  patients,  and  continued 
to  do  so,  too.  1  think  I  hear  you  say,  "  I  wonder  if  it  hurt  her." 
Well,  now  I  tell  you  I  paid  the  penalty  for  about  five  weeks.  I 
was  careful  ever  afterwards  to  pay  attention  to  the  God-power. 
I  will  not  tire  you  by  telling  you  any  more,  only  to  say  that  it 
made  no  difference  what  suffering  was  put  upon  me,  I  have 
always  been  in  my  office  every  day  with  my  beloved  patients. 
I  have  been  in  my  office  all  day  and  every  day  since  I  began, 
through  the  powers,  to  write  this  book  and  collect  the  material  for 
it.  My  writings  have  nearly  all  been  done  at  night,  when  most 
people  were  asleep,  usually  between  twelve  and  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  I  want  the  angel  world  to  give  credit  to  all  whose 
writings  and  experience  we  have  inserted  here.  The  closing 
chapter,  "  Signs  and  Wonders  "  you  will  find  in  "  Fragments," 
by  J.  J.  Owen,  late  editor  of  the  San  Jose  Mercury,  and  author 
of  many  other  works.  Mr.  Owen  was  a  warm  friend  of  mine,  and 
in  writing  "  Signs  and  Wonders  "  he  alluded  to  our  treatment,  so 
I  will  do  him  the  honor  to  close  the  book  with  it,  knowing  that  he 
wrote  it  for  me. 

If  I  have  fulfilled  the  mission  that  was  placed  before  me,  I 
am  so  glad.  I  have  had  for  my  companions  the  dear  angels  and 
the  love  of  my  patients  and  friends,  and  the  love  and  adoration 
of  my  dear  children  and  relatives.  I  will  close  with  the  verses 
Mr.  J.  J.  Owen  composed  for  me.  Many  readers  will  recognize 
them. 


7©  Book  of  Knowledge. 

OUR  LITTLE  DOCTOR. 

By  J.  J.  Owen,  Editor  San  Jose  Mercury, 

Thou  angel  ministrant  of  health, 
What  magic  lies  within  thy  hand! 
Thy  spirit  gifts,  what  priceless  wealth 
Is  placed  at  thy  command! 

The  touch  of  sympathy  and  love 
Goes  with  thy  power  the  sick  to  heal, 
And  solace  from  kind  hearts  above 
The  suffering  soul  may  feel. 

The  lame  arise  and  cast  aside 
Their  bonds,  to  stand  henceforth  alone. 
In  all  the  conscious  strength  and  pride 
Of  health's  most  precious  boon. 

The  blind  behold  the  light  again, 
The  deaf  the  voice  of  love  can  hear. 
And  the  dark  clouds  of  woe  and  pain 
Are  caused  to  disappear. 

What  service  grander  can  there  be 
Than  that  which  breaks  the  galling  chain 
And  ushers  into  liberty 
The  body  free  from  pain? 

Long  may  our  "  Little  Doctor  "  live, 
The  world's  sad  side  of  life  to  cheer. 
And  of  her  "  Balm  of  Gilead  "  give 
To  those  who  need  her  here. 

If  the  good  we  do  shall  blossom  forth 
In  blessings  in  the  world  to  come, 
What  "pearly  gates"  and  mansion  grand 
Will  be  her  spirit  home ! 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures,  71 

FROM  THE  SPIRIT  WORLD. 

Among  the  "  Spirit  Messages  "  in  the  late  "  Better  Way," 
pubHshed  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  given  through  the  mediumship 
of  Henry  H.  Warner,  is  one  from  Henry  Beighle,  father  of  the 
husband  of  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  referring  to  the  "  Little  Doctor." 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  many  of  the  people  of  San  Fran- 
cisco will  remember  me  or  not,  but  there  is  one  who  will,  and 
to  her  I  say,  Nellie,  dear  heart,  you  need  not  fear,  for  there  is 
a  band  of  faithful  workers  who  have  ever  stood  by  your  side 
in  the  dark  hours  of  the  past,  when  sorrow  and  affliction  were 
your  portion,  and  shall  we  desert  you  now,  when  you  are  so 
near  the  haven  of  rest  ?  No !  We  draw  still  closer  around  you 
and  ever  strengthen  you  with  our  presence.  This  is  the  symbol 
that  is  given  to  us  for  you:  A  wreath  of  laurel  leaves,  among 
which  are  twined  blossoms  of  heartsease,  sweet  mignonette  and 
lilies-of-the- valley ;  the  laurel  is  the  emblem  of  your  victory 
over  all  opposition;  the  heartsease  is  what  you  have  been  to 
many  weary  travellers  on  life's  highway;  the  mignonette,  the 
sweet  incense  of  love  and  harmony  that  you  are  continually  giv- 
ing unto  others,  and  the  lilies  typify  the  music  of  the  spiritual 
realms  to  which  your  heart  is  ever  attuned.  May  you  ever 
realize  the  presence  of  the  angel  loved  ones  near  you  to  guide 
and  sustain  you. 

To  Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle,  San  Francisco. 

Henry  H.  Warner  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  me.  I  had 
never  even  heard  of  him  till  the  "  Better  Way  "  was  brought 
into  my  office  by  a  friend  who  had  noticed  it. 

The  electricity  in  my  arm  (which  extends  about  two  inches, 
I  think,  above  the  elbow)  is  a  puzzle  to  electricians.  The 
moment  I  make  a  circuit  by  touching  another  person  the  bat- 
tery, as  it  were,  stops.  This  electricity  will  penetrate  glass,  and 
is  conducted  by  hair. 

In  the  fall  of  1888,  my  practice  being  very  large,  I  suppose 
it  aroused  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  the  old  school  practitioners; 
they  sought  to  drive  me  from  the  field  by  intimations  of  prose- 
cution for  "  illegal  "  practice.    After  receiving  a  number  of  let- 


72  Book  of  Knowledge, 

ters  from  the  different  boards  and  not  paying  any  attention  to 
them,  knowing  that  the  patients  we  cured  were  turned  out  to  die 
by  the  "  regular  "  doctors  before  they  came  to  us,  one  morning 
on  reaching  my  office  the  following  letter  came  in  the  mail.  I 
had  become  so  tired  of  reading  these  letters  I  thought  I  would 
answer  this  one.    It  requires  no  further  explanation. 

Office  of  the  Board  of  Examiners  of  the  Medical  Soc'y 
OF  California. 

San  Francisco,  November  i,  1888. 
Mrs.  Dr.  N.  Beighle.    - 

Dear  Madam  : — We  have  been  informed  that  there  is  a  Dr. 
Beighle  practising  medicine  at  Market  and  Jones  Streets,  and 
on  looking  over  the  records  of  this  office,  as  well  as  the  Hst  of 
licentiates  of  the  Homeopathic  and  Eclectic  Boards  of  Exam- 
iners, we  find  no  one  of  that  name  recorded.  No  doubt  you 
are  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  it  is  against  the  law  of  the  State 
to  practise  medicine  without  a  license  from  one  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Boards. 

We  are  about  to  publish  a  register  of  all  the  physicians  prac- 
tising in  this  State,  and  we  desire  your  name  to  appear  among 
those  Hcensed.  Unless  we  are  informed  that  you  have  been 
granted  a  legal  license  we  shall  be  compelled  to  include  your 
name  among  the  "  Illegals." 

Hoping  that  we  may  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest  con- 
venience, as  we  shall  go  to  press  with  the  Register  by  December 
1st,  I  am, 

Yours  respectfully, 

Chas.  E.  Blake,  M.D.,  Sec'y. 

431  Geary  St. 

ANSWER. 

Chas.  E.  Blake,  M.D.,  Sec'y,  etc. 

In  view  of  the  lamentable  loss  of  human  Hfe,  resulting  from 
what  is  known  as  "  regular  "  practise,  I  am  proud  to  be  recog- 
nized among  what  you  term  the  "Illegals,"  where  you  will 
please  place  me. 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  73 

As  a  large  share  of  my  practise  is  among  those  whom  you, 
or  your  confreres,  have  declared  to  be  incurable,  but  who,  in 
their  ignorance,  prefer  to  be  restored  to  health  in  an  "  illegal " 
and  non-professional  way  rather  than  yield  up  the  ghost  at 
your  professional  suggestion,  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  do  not 
choose  to  attach  much  importance  to  a  membership  in  your 
State  Society. 

My  license  comes  from  a  higher  Board  than  any  claimed  by 
your  Schools  of  Medicine ;  my  diploma  consists  of  the  long  list 
of  names  of  those  who  have  been  healed  through  the  divinely 
endowed  gifts  I  profess  to  practise. 

As  I  use  none  of  your  methods,  and  avoid  every  appear- 
ance of  imitating  the  same  (from  a  sincere  regard  for  the  wel- 
fare of  my  patients),  I  cannot  understand  why  your  august  body 
should  trouble  itself  about  me.     I  am, 

Very  respectfully, 

Dr.  Nellie  Beighle. 


Report    of    Committee    of    Investigation    of    Dr.    Nellie 

Beighle  Before  the  Oakland  Psychical  Research 

Society. 

December  28,  1893,  and  March  i,  1894. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  March  8,  1894. 

A  meeting  of  the  Oakland  Psychical  Society  was  held  in 
their  rooms  in  the  Central  Bank  Building,  corner  Broadway  and 
Fourteenth  Street,  on  the  evening  of  December  28,  1893. 

The  president  called  the  meeting  to  order,  after  which  Mrs. 
Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  of  San  Francisco,  was  presented  to  the 
Society  for  its  investigation. 

She  is  a  lady  whose  right  arm  is  possessed  of  a  power  of  a 
phenomenal  character,  entering  about  three  inches  above  the 
elbow  and  extending  to  the  tips  of  the  fingers.  The  committee 
appointed  by  the  President  desire  to  make  this  report  of  their 
experiments  held  with  said  lady,  which  came  under  their  direct 
observation  and  in  the  presence  of  the  other  members  of  the 
Society.    Dr.  Nellie  Beighle  was  first  conducted  to  an  adjoining 


74  Book  of  Knowledge. 

room  by  a  committee  of  ladies  (members  of  the  Society),  for 
the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  an  electric  battery  or  any 
other  artificial  device  capable  of  producing  the  power  was  con- 
cealed on  or  about  her  person.  After  thoroughly  satisfying 
themselves,  the  lady  was  returned  to  the  Society  in  waiting  for 
investigation,  with  her  right  hand  and  arm  bare  to  the  shoulder. 

Five  members  of  the  society  were  operated  upon  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner: 

A  chair  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  room;  Dr.  N.  K. 
Foster,  a  member  of  the  committee,  was  the  first  to  occupy  it. 
When  Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle  placed  her  right  hand  upon  his  head 
he  reported  feeling  a  distinct  shock,  similar  in  character  to 
which  one  would  receive  when  coming  in  contact  with  an  elec- 
tric battery,  though  the  vibratory  force  was  devoid  of  that  sting- 
ing or  burning  sensation  usually  felt  when  emanating  from  a 
battery,  and  the  vibrations  were  heavy,  less  rapid  and  throbbing 
in  character. 

When  the  lady  touched  the  hair  upon  his  head  with  the  tips 
of  her  fingers  the  result  was  the  same.  If  she  touched  the 
back  of  the  chair  the  same  force  was  observed. 

With  one  finger  she  touched  his  forehead,  moving  it  over 
the  top  and  down  the  spinal  column,  the  force  following  the 
movement  of  the  finger. 

The  lady  then  took  a  common  glass  tumbler  used  for  drink- 
ing purposes,  holding  it  in  her  right  hand,  and  whenever  the 
person  was  touched  with  it  the  same  power  was  experienced. 
She  pressed  the  glass  against  the  bottom  of  the  shoe  on  his 
foot  with  a  like  result. 

When  in  contact  with  the  force  or  power  of  this  arm  she 
touched  the  person  with  the  tips  of  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand 
the  power  instantly  ceased. 

Dr.  Foster  reported  observing  the  temperature  and  pulsa- 
tion of  the  arm  to  be  in  a  normal  state. 

The  most  singular  feature  connected  with  the  experiments 
occurred  when  the  fourth  person  occupied  the  chair. 

Dr.  Beighle  placed  her  right  hand  upon  the  subject  in  like 
manner  as  the  others;  when  the  hand  came  in  contact  with  the 
back  of  his  head  she  immediately  exclaimed :  "  I  can't  take  my 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  75 

hand  away!  Do  you  not  suffer  with  pain  in  your  head?  "  The 
subject's  answer  was,  "  I  do."  While  her  hand  remained 
against  the  back  of  his  head  her  arm  to  the  elbow  became 
swollen  and  congested,  having  the  appearance  of  an  arm  tightly 
bound  with  a  cord. 

After  this  experiment  the  lady  was  obliged  to  bathe  her  hand 
and  arm  in  water.  After  they  had  resumed  their  normal  con- 
dition, five  hands,  one  of  each  of  the  five  subjects,  were  placed 
one  upon  the  other,  Dr.  Beighle  placing  her  hand  upon  the  top, 
when  the  sensation  was  plainly  felt  by  all,  from  the  first  to  the 
fifth  below.  She  also  used  the  glass  with  this  experiment,  pro- 
ducing a  like  result. 

In  the  several  experiments  enumerated  above^  when  the 
lady  used  the  glass  she  also  held  the  same  against  the  person  by 
the  pressure  of  one  finger. 

On  the  evening  of  March  i,  1894,  Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle  again 
came  before  the  Society  for  further  investigation.  Owing  to 
a  violent  rain  storm  at  the  hour  of  meeting,  a  majority  of  the 
members  and  invited  guests  (members  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion) were  unable  to  be  present. 

Dr.  Frank  L.  Adams,  a  physician  of  this  city,  and  C.  L. 
Cory,  Professor  of  Electrical  Engineering,  a  representative  of 
the  California  University,  of  Berkeley,  by  invitation  were  pres- 
ent and  conducted  the  investigation. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle  exhibited  in  her  right  hand  and  arm  the 
same  power  and  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  described  at  the  meet- 
ing previously  reported. 

On  this  occasion,  however.  Dr.  Beighle,  in  answer  to  the 
question,  "  Is  this  power  or  force  always  in  your  arm  ?  "  stated 
that  power  came  only  when  she  desired  to  use  it  for  demonstra- 
tion and  in  practising  her  profession.  She  exemplified  her 
statement  by  exhibiting  her  hand  and  arm  with  and  without  the 
power. 

Mrs.  Dr.  Beighle  (nee  Nellie  Craib)  then  gave  a  short  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  her  life. 

She  is  a  native  of  Canada,  born  in  185 1  of  Scotch  parents; 
her  mother  dying  when  she  was  two  years  old. 

Five  years  later,  at  the  age  of  seven,  she  was  brought  to 


76  Book  of  Knowledge. 

California,  and  has  resided  in  the  city  of  San  Francisco  most  of 
the  time  since.     In  1871  she  was  married  to  Geo.  W.  Beighle. 

At  an  early  age  she  developed  various  phases  of  mediumship. 
In  1879  she  became  endowed  with  this  peculiar  power  in  her 
right  hand  and  arm,  which,  with  two  exceptions,  has  remained 
with  her  to  the  present  time,  using  it  in  practising  the  "  Art  of 
Healing." 

Mrs.  Beighle  is  a  "  Psychic ''  of  refinement  and  education, 
having  (before  marriage)  been  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools. 

She  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  principles  and  philosophy  of 
Spiritualism,  and  claims  to  receive  this  force  through  the  power 
of  spirit  entities. 

J.  G.  Chestnut, 
N.  K.  Foster,  m.d., 

J.  C.  McMuLLEN, 

H.  F.  Deaner, 
S.  P.  Channell, 

President, 
J.  B.  Randolph, 

President. 

MAGNETIC   HEALING. 
amazing  results  of  electricity  applied  by  healer  to  patient. 

In  the  Spreckels  Building,  on  the  fourth  floor,  is  a  lady  who 
has  long  resided  in  San  Francisco,  and  who  has  acquired,  grad- 
ually and  silently,  a  reputation  which  can  only  be  described  as 
marvellous.  This  lady  is  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  who  for  several 
years  was  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  this  city.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-eight  she  perceived  that  a  peculiar  power  had 
developed  in  her  right  arm.  From  shoulder  to  wrist  the  arm 
had  become  the  habitat  of  an  electric  current  equal  to  that  gen- 
erated by  a  small  battery.  Disease,  she  found,  fled  at  her  touch, 
and  cases  were  constantly  occurring  which  suggested  something 
not  far  from  miraculous. 

A  day  or  two  ago  she  was  visited  in  her  'beautiful  offices. 
The  doctor,  still  young  looking  and  in  the  flush  and  flower  of 
perfect  womanhood,  explained  her  methods  and  gave  the  ad- 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  77 

dresses  of  a  number  of  her  patients.  It  was  thought  worth 
while  to  visit  some  of  the  persons  named  and  find  out  what 
they  really  thought  of  her  and  of  what  she  had  done  to  them. 
A  prominent  attorney,  a  wealthy  man  with  a  large  practise,  who 
was  reluctant  to  have  his  name  published,  but  who  would  be 
perfectly  willing  to  see  any  one  privately,  declared  that  Dr. 
Beighle  had  restored  his  sight  when  almost  gone,  and  in  the  case 
of  his  sixteen-year-old  daughter  had  cured  a  curvature  of  the 
spine.  "  I  only  know  that  doctors  could  do  nothing  for  me  or 
my  daughter,  and  that,  after  Dr.  Beighle's  treatment,  the 
trouble  in  both  cases  disappeared."  A  real  estate  agent,  doing 
one  of  the  largest  businesses  in  the  city,  was  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  a  fall  he  met  with  as  far  back  as  1849.  "  I  went  East," 
he  said ;  "  I  went  to  Europe,  but  could  get  no  help.  I  came 
home  to  die  and  Mrs.  Beighle  cured  me." 

The  Doctor  assures  us  that  she  can  refer  to  multitudes  of 
such  cases,  persons  here  in  the  city  whom  she  has  restored  to 
health.  It  is  easy  to  be  incredulous  or  scornful;  it  is  not  easy 
to  explain  such  results,  and  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  them. — 
Chronicle,  Sunday,  Sept.  29,  1895. 

"  THE  LITTLE  DOCTOR." 

This  is  not  the  name  of  a  popular  novel.  It  is  the  name  of 
a  popular  Httle  woman.  "  The  Little  Doctor  "  is  known  and  be- 
loved by  many  hundreds,  not  only  for  the  good  she  has  done  in 
this  world  for  suffering  humanity,  but  for  her  kindness  of  heart 
and  loyalty  of  character.  Letters,  testimonials,  affidavits,  in 
fact,  whole  stacks  of  documentary  evidence,  has  she  in  her  pos- 
session to  prove  that  her  professional  career  has  been  one  of 
continuous  success  in  battling  with  disease,  no  matter  in  what 
form  the  dread  enemy  has  faced  her.  At  a  touch  of  her  magic 
hand  pain  is  vanquished,  and  you  realize  that  the  days  of 
miracles  are  not  yet  passed.  Who  is  "  The  Little  Doctor "  ? 
She  is  Mrs.  Nellie  Craib-Beighle,  and  she  may  be  said  to  be  to 
the  sick  and  suffering  of  San  Francisco  what  Florence  Night- 
ingale was  to  the  wounded  soldiers  upon  the  battlefield — a  veri- 
table Samaritan. 


78  Book  of  Knowledge. 

People  are  prone  to  speak  lightly  of  that  which  they  do  not 
understand.  It  is  so  easy  to  denounce  as  "  impossible  "  that 
which  is  beyond  our  comprehension!  Dr.  Beighle  does  not 
claim  to  perform  her  wonderful — one  should  say  her  marvellous 
— cures  unaided. 

Surely  the  source  must  be  nothing  else  than  divine  when  a 
human  hand  and  arm  are  endowed  with  ability  to  eradicate 
disease  from  the  system  of  a  patient.  "  The  Little  Doctor's  " 
arm  is  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  weak,  an  instrument  of  physical 
salvation  to  the  suffering.  Seeing  is  believing,  and  no  one  can 
go  to  her  for  treatment  without  being  convinced  of  the  fact  that 
the  little  Doctor  is  most  marvellously  gifted  with  healing  arts, 
and  that  Shakespeare  uttered  a  great  truth  when  he  made  one 
of  his  characters  say,  "  There  are  more  things  in  Heaven  and 
earth,  Horatio,  than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy."  Dr. 
Beighle  enjoys  the  gratitude  and  admiration  of  all  whom  she 
has  benefited. 

Her  handsome  offices  in  the  Emma  Spreckels  Building  are 
thronged  daily  with  people  who,  once  knowing  her,  believe  once 
more  that  life  is  worth  living.  Her  reception  room,  401,  is  as 
bright  and  cheerful  and  restful  as  is  the  little  Doctor  herself. 
The  writer  was  charmingly  received  there.  Let  the  reader, 
also,  go  and  be  made  welcome. — Town  Talk,  October  26,  1895. 

NATURE  GIVES  POWER  TO  HEAL. 

MEDICINE  AND  INSTRUMENTS  DISCARDED  BY  A  IQTH  CENTURY 
DOCTOR.  ''  TO  DO  GOOD  IS  MY  RELIGION,  TO  CURE  THE  SICK  MY 
MISSION.^'  MEN  AND  WOMEN  PROMINENT  IN  CITY  AND 
STATE  TELL  OF  HEALTH  RESTORED. 

Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new; 
Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in  the  true, 

has  a  wider  application  perhaps  than  the  poet  knew  when  he 
penned  the  famous  lines.  In  the  heahng  art,  book  knowledge 
derived  from  the  schools  and  so-called  scientific  institutions  has 
signally  failed  to  conquer  the  diseases  which  prey  upon  man- 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  79 

kind  and  make  desolate  countless  homes.  The  old  regime  of 
nauseous  medicines,  the  surgeon's  knife  and  the  whole  para- 
phernalia of  instruments  of  torture  have  been  weighed  in  the 
balance  and  found  wanting. 

At  the  close  of  the  century  a  more  rational  method  of  treat- 
ment, evolved  from  Nature's  Arcana,  like  a  ray  of  light  pierces 
the  gloom  and  meets  with  instant  and  widespread  success. 

This  revolution,  fraught  with  so  much  of  hope  and  blessing 
to  poor  humanity,  has  been  accomplished  by  the  work  of  one 
woman,  who  has  resided  among  us  for  the  last  seventeen  years, 
but  so  modest,  so  unassuming  have  been  her  ministrations 
among  an  army  of  the  afflicted  to  whom  she  has  brought  health 
and  happiness  that  our  community  little  knew  that  in  Dr.  Nellie 
Beighle,  or  "  The  Little  Doctor,"  as  her  patients  endearingly 
term  her,  San  Francisco  possessed  the  most  successful  healer  of 
our  day. 

The  story  of  her  discovery  of  the  healing  power  developed  in 
her  right  arm  to  touch  the  sick  and  bid  them  be  whole  is 
familiar  to  our  readers.  Within  that  potent  right  arm  "  the 
Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift "  has  made  the  seat  of  an 
occult  force  which  science  has  often  essayed  to  describe,  but  as 
often  failed  "  to  pluck  out  the  heart  of  its  mystery." 

A  Call  reporter  paid  a  visit  to  her  beautiful  offices  on  the 
fourth  floor  of  the  Emma  Spreckels  building  yesterday.  A 
throng  of  patients  awaited  their  turn  in  the  reception  room. 
The  Doctor  obeys  the  injunction,  "  Physician,  heal  thyself,"  for 
the  glow  of  health  sparkles  in  her  eye  and  its  roses  mantle  in 
her  cheek.  There  is  something  masterful,  yet  tender,  in  her 
manner  as  she  accosts  her  patients,  and  their  first  step  on 
health's  highway  is  taken  in  confidence  and  love. 

The  doctor  is  a  charming  conversationalist,  and  in  answer 
to  a  question  said  she  treated  forty  patients  a  day.  Being  urged 
to  describe  her  methods  of  treatment  she  modestly  said  she  was 
afraid  she  couldn't,  for  no  two  persons  were  treated  alike. 

"  The  power  which  God  has  given  me,"  she  said  reverently, 
"  enables  me  to  treat  the  patient  through  natural  laws.  In  nerv- 
ous diseases  I  am  especially  interested,  and  the  numberless  ex- 
pressions of  gratitude  from  sufferers  from  this  cruel  form  of 


8o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

disease,  restored  to  health  by  my  instrumentality,  are  among 
my  most  precious  possessions. 

"  I  treat  all  diseases  of  the  stomach  except  cancer,"  she  con- 
tinued, "  together  with  kidney,  liver  and  rheumatic  affections — 
in  fact,  all  diseases." 

She  stated  to  the  reporter  that  her  charges  were  $5  for  a 
single  treatment,  or  $15  for  a  course.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  the  doctor  diagnoses  a  case  without  asking  a  question,  and 
it  is  conceded  that  in  this  regard  she  stands  without  a  peer. 
The  reporter  wanted  to  see  some  of  the  testimonials  from  promi- 
nent people,  about  which  so  much  had  been  said.  "  That  I  can- 
not permit,"  she  said,  and  a  look  of  firmness  came  into  the 
kindly  eyes  and  a  tone  of  severity  to  the  gentle  voice.  "  The 
letters  of  patients  are  inviolate,  and  can  be  shown  only  with  the 
consent  of  the  writers.  However,  here  are  the  names  of  a  few 
prominent  professional  and  business  people  whom  you  may 
interview  if  you  desire.  But  in  any  case,  their  names  must  not 
be  published." 

"  You  may  say  for  me,"  said  one  of  the  best  known  real 
estate  men  in  the  city,  "  that  Dr.  Beighle  saved  my  life.  I 
received  a  fall  in  1849  which  compelled  me  to  give  up  my  busi- 
ness. I  tried  the  best  physicians  East  and  in  Europe  without 
benefit.  I  went  to  her  and  got  cured.  You  can't  say  too  much 
in  her  praise."  "  I  have  been  a  sufferer  from  nervous  trouble 
for  years,"  remarked  the  wife  of  the  foregoing,  "  and  Dr. 
Beighle  has  restored  me  to  first-class  health.  For  nervous 
troubles  Dr.  Beighle  has  no  equal." 

Both  of  the  above  volunteered  enough  information  of  cures 
effected  by  "  The  Little  Doctor  "  to  fill  columns. 

A  well-known  ex-Senator  testified  to  having  had  stomach  and 
liver  complaints  which  made  life  a  burden.  He  tried,  without 
success,  the  most  eminent  physicians  and  the  best  springs.  "  Dr. 
Beighle  restored  me  to  perfect  health,"  he  concluded  enthusi- 
astically. 

A  public  man  who  once  held  the  second  highest  office  in  the 
State  had  an  affection  of  the  eyes  and  was  fast  becoming  blind. 
His  experience  with  the  most  noted  specialists  in  diseases  of  the 
eye  here  and  elsewhere  brought  him  no  relief.     "  At  last  I  ap- 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  81 

plied  to  Dr.  Beighle,  with  the  result  that  she  completely  restored 
my  sight." 

These  are  a  few  people  taken  at  random  out  of  scores  that 
live  to  testify  to  health  and  happiness  restored.  And  surely 
these  grateful  voices  must  fall  like  a  benediction  on  the  un- 
crowned queen  of  the  divine  mission  of  healing, — Call,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1896. 


DIFFICULTIES  OF  AN  INTERVIEWER. 

MYSTIC  FORCE  THAT  SUBJUGATES  DISEASE.  PRIESTESS  OF  THE 
NEW  DISPENSATION  WHO  DISCARDS  THE  SURGEON's  SCALPEL 
AND  physician's  DRUGS. 

I  went  up  to  the  Emma  Spreckels  Building  yesterday  in- 
structed to  obtain  an  interview  with  one  of  the  most  unique  and 
interesting  personalities  of  which  this  many-sided  metropolis 
can  boast,  for  the  benefit  of  the  readers  of  the  Christmas  Call. 
Interviewing  has  its  difficulties  at  times,  and  when  your  vis-a- 
vis is  a  delightful  conversationalist,  and  talks  charmingly  and 
freely  on  any  subject,  except  herself,  what  are  you  going  to  do? 

Who  has  not  heard  of  Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  San  Francisco's 
beloved  "  Little  Doctor,"  whose  name  is  an  inspiration  to  once 
darkened  lives  and  homes? 

She  occupies  an  entire  side  of  the  Spreckels  Building  on  the 
fourth  floor,  and  these  rooms,  furnished  with  quiet  elegance, 
are  the  Mecca  of  daily  increasing  throngs  afflicted  with  almost 
all  of  humanity's  ills.  The  reception  room  was  well  filled  in 
the  morning  hour,  and  it  was  a  veritable  pleasure  to  note  the 
quick  light  of  confiding  affection  that  came  into  the  eyes  of  her 
patients  as  she  entered. 

I  have  mentioned  how  reluctantly  she  alludes  to  herself, 
instinctively  shrinking  from  notoriety,  a  characteristic  well 
understood  by  her  friends. 

But  her  admirers  are  more  communicative,  and  lovingly 
dwell  on  her  miraculous  gifts,  her  life  consecrated  to  the  noblest 
use  that  this  world  can  afford — the  divine  mission  of  healing. 
They  tell  of  men  and  women  prominent  in  the  world  of  busi- 


82  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ness,  learned  professions  and  society,  a  prey  to  devouring 
disease,  dwellers  in  an  Inferno  of  sorrow,  to  whom  the  world's 
physicians  could  bring  no  balm  or  hope,  rescued  by  the  "  Little 
Doctor's  "  divine  art  and  enriched  with  health's  energies  and 
enjoyments. 

From  these  grateful  spirits  what  is  written  here  was  ob- 
tained, the  gentle  Doctor  being  inflexible  in  not  permitting  the 
names  of  patients  to  be  used. 

The  development  of  magnetic  power  in  the  Doctor's  won- 
drous right  arm  is  familiar  history.  Its  potency  to  subjugate 
disease  came  as  a  revelation,  and  this  earnest  soul,  herself  a 
woman  of  culture,  a  former  teacher  in  the  public  schools,  saw 
in  the  occult  energy  that  so  strangely  became  part  of  her  only 
the  path  of  duty  and  enlarged  opportunities  of  doing  good. 
The  sick  came  to  her,  and  her  success  attracted  the  attention  of 
scientists  and  the  medical  profession.  Here  was  a  new  con- 
ception of  Nature,  and  it  mystified  them.  They  were  fettered 
with  the  prejudices  of  ancient  schools  and  they  could  not  under- 
stand this  new  enlargement  of  human  power.  A  committee  of 
the  Oakland  Psychical  Research  Society  was  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate her.  She  modestly  appeared  before  it.  The  signed 
report  speaks  of  the  rigid  precautions  observed,  and  specifies 
the  manner  in  which  she  demonstrated  her  power  by  placing 
her  right  hand  upon  the  head  of  a  member  of  the  committee, 
who  "  reported  feeling  a  distinct  shock,  similar  in  character  to 
which  one  would  receive  when  coming  in  contact  with  an  elec- 
tric battery.  When  the  lady  touched  the  hair  upon  his  head 
with  the  tips  of  her  fingers  the  result  was  the  same.  If  she 
touched  the  back  of  the  chair  the  same  force  was  observed." 

The  report  is  very  interesting  and  received  wide  publicity. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  committee  was  thoroughly  convinced 
of  her  power. 

What  is  this  mystic  force  which  sets  at  naught  the  learning 
of  the  schools?  By  its  fruits  it  can  be  judged.  "  Dr.  Beighle 
saved  my  life,"  said  one  of  the  most  prominent  merchants  in 
the  city.  "  I  tried  the  best  physicians  in  the  East  and  in  Europe 
without  avail.  She  cured  me  permanently."  A  United  States 
Senator  testified  to  a  cure  of  stomach  and  liver  complaint  that 


Record  of  Some  Wonderful  Cures.  Z^ 

the  most  famous  springs  and  physicians  could  not  relieve.  But 
space  forbids  the  recital  of  cases  of  restored  health  from  the 
lips  of  grateful  men  and  women. 

The  Doctor  exemplifies  in  her  own  person  the  secret  and  liv- 
ing force  with  which  God  has  dowered  her ;  she  is  radiant  with 
health  and  grace,  and  her  features  express  her  soul  and  its  aspira- 
tions. Her  innate  sympathy  reproduces  in  her  gentle  breast 
the  suffering  of  the  patient.  This  may  explain  in  part  her  suc- 
cess in  nervous  diseases,  and  her  modest  reference  to  it.  "  I 
am  deeply  interested  in  this  cruel  form  of  disease,  and  I  cherish 
the  grateful  testimony  of  sufferers  whom  it  has  been  my  privi- 
lege to  restore  to  health." 

The  regime  of  scalpel  and  drug  seems  to  be  passing  away, 
and  in  its  stead  has  come  the  new  dispensation  of  which  the 
"  Little  Doctor  "  is  the  seer  and  priestess. — Lura  Smalley, 
Cally  December  i8,  1898. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONTROLS    AND    MEDIUMS. 

Sir  Astley  Cooper,  a  celebrated  English  surgeon,  was  born 
at  Brooke,  in  Norfolk,  where  his  father  was  a  curate,  in  August, 
1768.  In  his  sixteenth  year  he  went  to  London  and  placed  him- 
self under  the  care  of  Mr.  Cline,  one  of  the  most  noted  surgeons 
of  his  day.  He  devoted  himself  with  ardor  to  his  profession, 
and  was  a  constant  attender  at  the  dissecting  rooms,  and  also 
at  the  lectures  of  the  famous  John  Hunter.  In  1787  C.  was 
appointed  demonstrator  of  anatomy  at  St.  Thomas's  Hospital; 
and  four  years  after  he  assisted  Mr.  CHne,  who  was  surgeon  at 
St.  Thomas's,  in  the  course  of  lectures  on  anatomy  and  surgery. 
In  1792  he  was  appointed  Professor  of  Anatomy  at  Surgeon's 
Hall,  and  in  1800  surgeon  to  Guy's  Hospital.  In  181 3  he  re- 
ceived the  professorship  of  comparative  anatomy  in  the  College 
of  Surgeons.  Meanwhile,  C.  had  been  enriching  medical  liter- 
ature by  various  contributions.  An  essay  on  the  effects  result- 
ing from  the  destruction  of  the  membrana  tympani  gained  him, 
in  1802,  the  Copley  medal  of  the  Royal  Society,  of  which  he  was 
elected  a  Fellow  three  years  afterwards.  In  1804-1807  appeared 
his  great  work  on  Hernia,  with  illustrations  mostly  of  life  size, 
a  contribution  of  the  utmost  value  to  medical  science — the  anat- 
omy of  the  disease  and  the  mode  of  operating  for  its  relief  being 
little  understood  before — though  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view 
it  proved  very  unprofitable  to  himself.  The  practical  part  of  his 
profession  was  not  neglected  during  this  time.  He  was  the 
first  to  attempt  the  tying  of  the  carotid  artery,  an  attempt  which, 
though  unsuccessful  in  his  hands,  has  since  proved  effectual  in 
the  hands  of  other  practitioners.  His  annual  income,  which  in 
the  fifth  year  of  his  practise  amounted  only  to  one  hundred 
pounds,  had  in  1813  risen  to  the  enormous  sum  of  twenty-one 
thousand  pounds,  perhaps  the  largest  ever  received  by  a  sur- 


Controls  ana  Mediums.  85 

geon.  In  1817  he  tried  what  has  been  considered  the  boldest 
experiment  ever  attempted  in  surgery,  the  tying  of  the  aorta, 
which  did  not  prove  successful ;  and  it  has  since  been  tried  with 
no  better  result.  In  1820  C.  removed  a  steatomatous  tumor 
from  the  head  of  George  IV.,  who  marked  his  appreciation  of 
the  operation  by  conferring  a  baronetcy  upon  C.  some  six 
months  after.  In  1822  he  was  elected  one  of  the  Court  of  Ex- 
aminers of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  and  in  1827  president.  In 
the  following  year  he  received  the  appointment  of  sergeant- 
surgeon  to  the  king,  and  in  1830  was  made  Vice-President  of 
the  Royal  Society.  Other  honors  flowed  in  upon  him.  He  was 
made  a  member  of  the  French  Institute  and  corresponding 
member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  a  D.C.L.  of  Ox- 
ford, and  an  LL.D.  of  Edinburgh. 

Ever  busy  with  his  pen  as  with  his  knife  he,  in  1822,  pub- 
lished a  work  on  "  Dislocations  and  Fractures,"  which  threw 
much  new  light  on  the  subjects  discussed,  and  also  suggested 
improved  methods  of  treatment.  His  treatise  on  the  "Anat- 
omy and  Diseases  of  the  Breast "  (1829-1840)  was  characterized 
by  all  the  care,  research,  and  originality  which  distinguished 
his  previous  works ;  so  Hkewise  was  his  "  Anatomy  of  the  Thy- 
mus Gland,"  1832.  C.  died  February  12,  1841.  A  colossal 
statue  to  his  memory  is  erected  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Lon- 
don. As  a  teacher,  C.  possessed  the  faculty  of  communicating 
knowledge  in  a  manner  at  once  easy  and  agreeable ;  and  he  ele- 
vated medical  surgery,  the  operations  of  which  before  his  time 
have  been  described  as  a  series  of  "  frightful  alternatives,  or 
hazardous  compromises,"  into  a  science. 

A  dear  friend  who  was  traveling  in  Europe  copied  the  follow- 
ing inscription  from  the  monument  erected  to  Sir  Astley 
Cooper,  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  London,  England: 

Sir  Astley  Paston  Cooper,  Baronet,  K.C.N.,  F.R.S.,  D.C.L., 
Member  of  the  National  Institute  of  France,  Sergeant-Surgeon 
to  their  late  Majesties  Geo.  IV.,  Wm.  IV.,  to  her  present  Ma- 
jesty Queen  Victoria,  and  for  a  period  of  forty-two  years  Sur- 
geon to  Guy's  Hospital. 

Born  1768.     Died  1841. 

Animated  by  a  fervent  attachment  to  the  science  and  prac- 
tise of  his  profession,  it  was  the  study  of  his  life  to  augment  and 


86  Book  of  Knowledge. 

exemplify  the  resources  of  surgery,  and  by  a  most  assiduous, 
benevolent  and  successful  application  of  his  time  and  talents 
to  this  noble  department  of  the  healing  art,  not  his  country 
alone,  but  the  world,  became  indebted  to  his  exertions  and 
familiar  with  his  fame. 

As  a  memorial  of  their  admiration,  his  contemporaries  and 
pupils  have  erected  this  monument  to  perpetuate  his  name  and 
his  example. 

Sir  Astley  Cooper  is  my  principal  control. 


MOLLIE  C.  SMITH. 

Mrs.  Mollie  Smith,  the  wonderful  psychic,  the  "Trumpet 
Medium,"  and  Mrs.  Maud  Lord  Drake  are  the  only  two 
mediums  I  have  ever  associated  with  and  invited  to  my  home  and 
table.  Mrs.  Mollie  Smith,  God  bless  her!  Indeed,  He  has 
blessed  her  when  He  selected  her  for  the  wonderful  power. 
She  is  as  nearly  an  angel  as  one  can  get  to  be  on  this  earth.  Her 
powers  are  peculiar,  and  so  wonderful.  She  generally  sits  for 
five  at  a  time.  The  first  sitting  I  ever  had  with  her  was  one 
evening  when  a  gentleman  and  his  wife  (he  was  once  Governor 

of  California)   and  a  Mrs.  T were  invited  to  dinner  at  a 

friend's  house  to  meet  Mrs.  Smith  and  have  an  evening  with 
her.  After  dinner  we  retired  to  the  back  parlor,  there  being  a 
piano  and  a  few  chairs  in  the  room.  The  host  told  the  Governor 
he  wanted  him  to  tie  Mrs.  Smith,  and  he  produced  three  pieces 
of  wide  white  tape  for  that  purpose.  After  he  had  tied  her  as 
only  a  sailor  can,  the  host  then  handed  him  nails  and  hammer 
and  told  him  he  wanted  him  to  nail  her  to  the  floor,  so  he  would 
be  sure  she  could  not  handle  the  " '  phone,"  which  is  a  trumpet 
about  two  feet  in  length,  with  one  end  small  and  the  other  about 
four  inches  in  diameter.  This  'phone,  when  being  used,  is 
brought  up  close  to  the  ear  and  a  private  conversation  can  be 
carried  on  between  the  angel  loved  one  and  the  one  seeking  in- 
formation. 

After  Mrs.  Smith  was  securely  tied  and  nailed,  we  six,  the 
host  and  hostess,  Governor  and  his  wife,  Mrs.  T and  my- 


Controls  and  Mediums,  87 

self,  sat  down  in  a  half  circle  a  number  of  feet  from  Mrs.  Smith, 
and  joined  hands.  Then  the  hghts  were  put  out,  and  we  sat 
there  for  a  long  time — I  think  about  two  hours — when  the  piano 
began  to  play,  and  a  power  was  handling  the  "  'phone,"  and 
began  to  speak  through  it.  The  Governor  became  so  excited; 
as  we  had  all  joined  hands,  and  all  searching  for  the  truth,  one 
could  hardly  blame  him.  He  turned  to  me,  as  I  sat  next  to 
him,  and  said,  "  Doctor,  are  you  helping  Mrs*  Smith  ? "  I 
laughed  heartily,  as  he  did  not  notice  that  he  not  only  held  my 
hands,  but  had  placed  his  feet  over  mine.  When  I  called  his 
attention  to  it,  Mrs.  Smith  spoke  up  and  said,  "  You  have  for- 
gotten, Governor,  that  you  have  not  only  tied  my  hands  to- 
gether and  tied  me  to  the  chair,  but  you  have  also  nailed  me  to 
the  floor." 

You  cannot  believe  what  a  wonderful  evening  we  had.  When 
the  angels  had  ceased  to  speak  with  us,  the  lights  were  turned 
up,  and  Mrs.  Smith,  poor,  dear  girl,  had  sat  there  for  four  hours 
in  one  position,  the  tapes  being  tied  so  tightly  that  it  made  her 
hands  swell  so  you  could  not  see  the  tape.  The  sitting  was 
hard  on  her,  but  it  made  that  many  more  converts  to  the  truth. 

Mrs.  Smith  sat  forty  consecutive  nights  before  the  Psychical 
Research  Society  of  Boston,  and  the  investigation  was  all  writ- 
ten up  in  the  Arena.  Her  principal  control  is  General  Wilbur 
Thompson,  familiarly  known  as  "Wilbur,"  and  whose  intel- 
ligence baffles  the  most  skeptical;  and  as  a  peacemaker,  well, 
he  has  no  equal.  He  is  so  full  of  mirth  that  one  longs  to  go  to 
the  higher  life,  too.  God  bless  him !  He  has  been  a  panacea 
to  many  poor  darkened  souls.  Yes,  God  has  indeed  blessed 
him  when  He  gave  him  Mrs.  Smith  as  the  instrument  to  lighten 
the  burdens  of  the  people,  and  make  better  all  he  could  speak  to. 
I  can  but  poorly  express  what  I  know  about  him  and  his  work.  It 
is  all  so  wonderful,  so  grand,  that  one  seems  so  insignificant 
compared  to  them;  and  I  have  never  known  any  one  who  has 
ever  spent  an  evening  with  the  angels  and  Mrs.  Smith  but 
wanted  to  be  better,  that  is,  if  he  had  any  intelligence  at  all. 
In  these  later  years  Mrs.  Smith  has  been  one  of  my  warmest 
friends.  My  home  has  always  been  open  to  her,  the  same  as 
her  own,  and  I  always  felt    honored    when    she  accepted  it. 


88  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Beautiful  in  character,  beautiful  in  thought,  a  fitting  instrument 
for  God's  work. 


MAUD  LORD  DRAKE. 

Mrs.  Maud  Lord  Drake  is  another  wonderful  psychic.  I 
had  often  heard  about  her  but  never  had  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  her.  I  noticed  in  the  morning  paper  her  arrival  at  the 
Palace,  and  'phoned  my  son-in-law  to  go  to  the  hotel  and  see  if 
I  could  make  an  engagement  with  her.  He  did  so,  but  found 
she  had  left  the  Palace,  and  the  clerk  could  not  give  him  any 
information  about  her.  The  next  night  I  was  sitting  in  the  car 
when  Mr.  W ,an  old  patient  and  friend,  entered.  He  was  sur- 
prised to  s*ee  me,  and  I  joked  him  a  little  about  being  out  so 
late,  when  he  began  to  tell  me  about  what  a  wonderful  evening 
he  had  with  some  friends  who  had  invited  him  to  meet  Mrs. 
Maud  Lord  Drake.  Of  course  I  became  deeply  interested,  and 
asked  him  what  he  thought  about  her,  knowing  him  to  be  very 
skeptical.  He  said,  "  Doctor,  she  has  wonderful  power."  I 
then  asked  him  if  he  thought  there  would  be  any  opportunity  of 
my  getting  her  to  come  to  my  home.  He  said  he  would  see  his 
friend  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  and  ask  him  to  speak  to 
Mrs.  Drake  for  me.  The  next  day  I  received  a  message  from 
Mr.  W saying  Mrs.  Drake  would  come  to  my  home  Wed- 
nesday evening,  as  she  was  anxious  to  meet  me;  also,  that  she 
had  intended  going  away  in  a  day  or  two,  but  would  remain 

over  to  be  with  me.     Mr.  W wanted  me  to  reserve  a  seat 

in  the  circle  for  him.  He  also  wrote  me  that  I  could  have 
twenty  people  in  the  circle.  I  immediately  began  sending  out 
invitations.  My  guests  were  bankers,  lawyers,  doctors,  and 
some  who  were  leading  members  in  different  churches. 

Mr.  W came  at  seven  o'clock,  so  he  and  my  son  could 

prepare  the  seance  room.     They  took  the  back  parlor  for  that 

purpose,  taking  out  all  furniture  except  chairs.     Mr.  W 

advised  me  to  take  Mrs.  Drake  into  the  dining-room  when  she 
came  so  she  would  not  become  familiar  with  the  voices  of  the 
guests.  I  did  so,  and  when  I  presented  her  to  the  guests  I 
mentioned  only  her  name.     We  all  went  into  the  back  parlor 


Controls  and  Mediums.  89 

and  Mrs.  Drake  seated  us.  My  son-in-law  thought  it  was  going 
to  be  very  warm,  so  Mrs.  Drake  asked  me  if  I  had  any  fans. 
I  happened  to  have  two,  and  brought  them  in.  During  the 
seance  we  could  feel  the  fans  moving,  although  every  one  in  the 
circle  joined  hands  and  Mrs.  Drake  sat  in  the  centre  of  the 
circle,  and  kept  clapping  her  hands  together  so  we  would  all 
know  where  she  was.  The  gas  had  not  been  turned  out  three 
minutes  when  all  present  began  to  feel  small  hands  and  large 
ones  on  them,  and  eight  distinct  voices  were  speaking  at  once, 
giving  messages  all  around  the  circle.  Two  little  girls  (I  saw 
them  myself)  materialized  and  told  their  names.  They  came 
for  D.  F.  Walker,  the  banker  from  Salt  Lake  City,  and  his  wife. 
Now  remember,  we  could  hear  Maud  Lord  Drake  giving  tests 
to  different  ones  during  that  time.  When  we  first  sat  down 
Mrs.  Drake  asked  me,  "Who  is  the  most  skeptical?"  I  told 
her  they  were  all  skeptics.  Well,  the  God-power  and  the  angel 
friends  did  well,  and  one  and  all  were  wonder-stricken.  I  had 
Mrs.  Drake  ten  times  at  my  home  after  that,  and  invited  the 
guests  myself.  All  were  well  pleased  with  her  God-given 
power. 

Mrs.  Maud  Lord  Drake  is  a  very  lovely  woman.  She  has 
always  borne  an  excellent  character,  and  is  beloved  by  all  who 
know  her.  I  know  I  love  her  very  dearly.  She  has  been  in  my 
home  many  times,  and  I  hope  to  have  her  again.  She  has  given 
tests  before  all  the  noted  people.  May  the  angels  continue 
with  her. 

Questions  are  often  asked  me  regarding  evil  spirits  and 
how  they  get  possession  of  one.  I  always  caution  all  with 
whom  I  come  in  contact  and  who  are  interested  in  such  matters, 
and  are  turning  their  thoughts  to  the  life  beyond,  to  be  very 
careful  about  visiting  so-called  fortune  tellers  and  mediums  on 
a  low  plane.  Let  me  explain  what  I  mean  when  I  say  on  a  low 
plane:  so  many  claiming  to  be  mediums  are  not  fit  to  be  before 
the  public,  because  they  are  not  sufficiently  developed.  They 
get  a  little  clairvoyance  and  then  put  out  a  card  for  the  public, 
and  what  they  do  not  get  through  the  spirit  power  they  make 
up — anything   and   everything — disgusting   you    and    bringing 


9©  Book  of  Knowledge. 

around  you  an  influence  which  is  of  the  undeveloped  spirit, 
those  who  have  been  ushered  into  the  other  life  unprepared  and 
impure,  and  if  you  are  at  all  mediumistic,  the  first  thing  you 
know  you  are  influenced  by  them.  Such  an  influence  will  cause 
you  great  trouble  and  annoyance  to  get  rid  of,  so  my  advice  to 
you  is  to  find  a  medium  who  is  morally  good  and  pure,  and,  when 
you  do,  ask  of  God  and  from  your  very  soul  that  power  shall 
be  given  to  your  spirit  friends  to  come  and  communicate  with 
you.  Many  people  themselves  are  to  blame.  They  go  to  a 
psychic  with  dishonesty;  that  is,  they  make  up  their  minds  to 
puzzle  the  medium,  and  not  accept  the  truth  when  it  is  given 
them,  thereby  bringing  an  influence  of  that  kind  around  them. 
So  many  times  I  have  found  young  mediums  (because  they  are 
mediumistic,  or  they  could  not  get  possession  of  them)  with  evil 
influences  coming  to  them  in  this  way.  I  would  advise  my  dear 
readers  to  read  the  book  entitled  "The  Gadarene,"  by  that 
grand,  intelligent  man,  Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles.  I  advise  you  all  to 
read  that  book,  as  I  advise  my  dear  patients  to  take  their  boys 
and  girls  to  the  Anatomical  Museum  and  let  them  see  the 
dangers  they  may  be  thrown  into. 

I  have  had  so  many  cases  brought  into  the  office  of  those 
who  were  obsessed.  One  lady,  of  whom  I  will  relate  here, 
who  was  obsessed  by  an  unclean  spirit.  You  know  Christ 
speaks  of  this.  For  he  said  unto  him,  come  out  of  the  man,  thou 
unclean  spirit.    St.  Mark,  V,  8. 

I  was  in  one  of  the  operating  rooms  when  I  was  called  to 
come  quickly.  I  entered  the  office  and  a  lady  seemed  to  be 
choking.  I  realized  in  an  instant  that  it  was  a  case  of  obses- 
sion, and,  having  handled  many  cases  before  of  a  similar  nature, 
I  immediately  called  on  the  Holy  Power,  and,  placing  my  hand 
on  her  head,  commanded  him  to  leave.  As  I  did  so  I  saw  the 
spirit  of  the  most  repulsive  looking  man,  with  such  a  diabolical 
grin  on  his  face,  but  our  power  soon  took  him  away.  I  ascer- 
tained that  this  lady's  husband  had  died  very  suddenly.     She 

told  me  that  her  husband,  Mr.  T ,  had  been  feeling  badly; 

he  thought  he  would  take  a  rest  for  a  week  and  that  the  change 
would  do  him  good,  so  one  day  they  went  over  to  Lake  Merritt 
to  take  a  row  on  the  lake.     Mrs.  T said  they  were  enjoying 


Controls  and  Mediums.  91 

it  so  much,  when  her  attention  was  attracted  to  a  boat  coming 
toward  them ;  in  turning  round  to  speak  to  her  husband  she  saw 
him  fall  back  on  his  seat.     Her  screams  brought  the  people  in 

the  rowboat  to  her  assistance,  but  too  late.     Mr.   T was 

dead.  The  shock  nearly  killed  the  poor  wife.  She  told  me  that 
after  she  began  to  get  over  it,  she  hunted  up  several  mediums, 
hoping  to  hear  from  her  husband,  and,  being  mediumistic,  this 
influence  had  taken  hold  of  her  and  had  told  her  that  she  was 
going  to  die,  too,  purporting  to  be  her  husband,  and  told  her 
to  give  away  everything  that  belonged  to  her  to  her  friends. 
Poor  woman,  she  did  so,  causing  her  at  the  time  she  was 
brought  to  me  to  be  in  straitened  circumstances.  Well,  we  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  her  all  right,  and  later  on  she  married  a  very 
excellent  man. 

Always  remember,  dear  reader,  that  "  like  attracts  like." 
If  you  go  to  a  medium  for  divine  information,  do  not  lock  the 
door  of  your  soul  when  you  go  there,  but  open  it  wide,  and  send 
forth  your  very  best  thoughts,  and  God  will  send  your  loved 
ones  to  meet  you  in  the  same  manner. 

I  am  going  to  copy  from  "  Outside  the  Gates,"  by  Mary 
Shelhamer,  whose  work  through  the  "  Banner  of  Light "  many 
are  familiar  with.  I  always  call  "  Outside  the  Gates  "  my  Bible, 
having  seen  myself  so  many  things  mentioned  in  it.  I  want  to 
show,  if  one  does  not  do  right  here,  how  they  have  to  suffer 
"  outside  the  gates." 

Mary  Shelhamer  is  a  very  wonderful  medium  who  was  with 
the  "  Banner  of  Light "  for  many  years.  She  would  be  put 
under  control  by  her  intelligent  guides,  and  a  reporter  would 
take  down  what  she  said  for  the  "  Banner  of  Light."  Thousands 
of  dear  angels  were  able  to  communicate  with  their  dear  ones 
on  earth  in  this  manner. 

"  Outside  the  Gates  "  came  under  my  notice  in  a  very  pecu- 
Har  way.  I  had  been  taken  out  of  the  body  so  many,  many 
times,  traveling  in  the  "  higher  life."  It  was  all  so  wonderful 
to  me  that  I  was  filled  with  surprise.  One  day  I  was  directed 
to  this  book,  "  Outside  the  Gates,"  by  the  Holy  Power,  and 
when  I  read  it,  I  found  many,  many  things  in  it  which  I  had  ex- 
perienced.   Therefore  I  prized  the  author  and  the  book  very 


9*  Book  of  Knowledge. 

much.  I  have  bought  a  great  many  of  the  books  and  given 
them  to  patients  and  friends ;  those  who  were  spiritual  enough 
appreciated  them.  I  have  myself  seen,  from  the  lower  to  the 
higher,  which  is  written  in  this  book.  I  will  give  here  "  Spirits 
in  Darkness,"  showing  how  they  are  compelled  to  be  "  outside 
the  gate."    By  permission  of  Mary  T.  Shelhammer-Longley. 


SPIRITS  OF  DARKNESS. 
{From  Chapter  IV.) 

Again  I  found  myself  outside  the  heavenly  walls  that  glowed 
before  me  with  a  richer  beauty  and  a  clearer  light  than  they  had 
done  before;  the  atmosphere  around  me  seemed  a  Httle  less 
heavy  and  dense  than  it  had  been  in  my  former  sojourn  here, 
and  I  breathed  with  greater  ease;  a  feeling  of — not  exactly 
peace  or  content,  but  something  less  despairing  than  my  former 
frame  of  mind,  possessed  me,  and  I  observed  that  my  robes, 
that  before  seemed  of  a  funereal  black,  now  appeared  of  a  dark 
blue  color.  Still,  I  drew  their  folds  around  me,  for  I  was  not 
yet  prepared  to  expose  my  features  to  my  fellow  travellers,  nor 
to  take  a  general  interest  in  their  welfare.  The  sight  of  the 
golden  gates  again  drew  my  heart  toward  their  portals,  and  a 
great  sorrow  that  I  was  unworthy  to  enter  the  land  that  lay 
beyond  filled  my  being. 

Thus  again  I  paced  to  and  fro  with  bowed  head  and  heavy 
heart;  but  now  I  would  occasionally  look  up  and  glance  at  those 
who  hurried  by  me  or  who  sat  around  in  gloomy  postures  or 
despairing  or  abandoned  attitudes ;  for  since  my  experience  with 
Lettie  I  could  never  again  be  altogether  indifferent  to  the  sor- 
rows of  my  fellow  creatures. 

At  length  I  was  drawn  to  a  solitary,  hard-visaged  young 
woman,  who  constantly  remained  in  one  place,  and  crouched 
low  as  if  to  bury  herself  from  sight.  Usually  her  features  wore 
a  defiant,  reckless  expression  that  forbade  all  approach;  but 
once  or  twice  I  observed  a  softer  shade  sweep  over  them,  as 
though  love,  or  repentance,  or  some  spiritual  emotion  was  work- 
ing in  her  breast.      Finally,  moved  by  her  utterly  forlorn  and 


Controls  and  Mediums.  93 

hopeless  aspect,  I  resolved  to  try  to  draw  her  into  conversa- 
tion, and  approached  her  for  that  purpose.  Her  entire  appear- 
ance was  so  utterly  repelling  and  forbidding  as  she  confronted 
me  that  I  shrank  back  appalled,  and,  contenting  myself  by  simply 
saying,  "  My  poor  woman,  I  pity  you !  If  I  can  help  you,  let 
me  know,  for  I,  too,  am  one  who  suffers  and  I  know  how  to 
sympathize  with  others,"  left  her  again  to  herself. 

But  having  once  spoken  to  the  poor  creature,  I  could  not 
rest  without  again  attempting  to  offer  her  consolation,  and, 
after  many  rebuffs  and  failures  to  elicit  anything  from  her,  she 
finally  broke  into  moans  and  wails  of  distress,  and,  crouch- 
ing at  my  feet  like  a  wounded  animal,  revealed  to  me  her  tale 
of  woe. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  shock  of  horror,  of  pain  and  fear 
that  went  over  me  as  I  listened  to  the  terrible  story.  I  cannot 
relate  it  to  you  in  all  its  horrors.  This  creature  had  been  an 
abandoned  woman  of  the  streets.  For  years  she  had  lived  a 
life  of  shame,  and,  even  worse  than  bartering  her  own  woman- 
hood in  passion  or  for  gold,  she  had  been  instrumental  in  induc- 
ing other  women  to  part  with  their  virtue  and  self-respect.  A 
Hfe  of  horror  and  misery  passed,  until  one  day  she  was  con- 
fronted by  the  jealous  fury  of  one  to  whom  she  had  promised  to 
be  faithful,  and  before  she  had  time  to  defend  herself  or  to  offer 
a  word  of  explanation  he  felled  her  to  the  floor  and  fled  from 
the  scene.  The  woman  lingered  in  the  body  for  a  week,  and 
then  her  struggling  spirit  was  released  from  its  prison  of  pain. 
The  man  was  arrested,  tried  for  and  convicted  of  manslaughter, 
and  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life. 

This  was  the  substance  of  that  dreadful  tale,  from  which  I 
shrank  as  its  recital  fell  upon  my  soul  like  a  burning  flame  that 
scorched  and  withered  me.  But  the  poor  woman  continued, 
"  I  have  been  a  vile,  vile  creature,  cursed  by  God  and  man,  and 
hated  by  the  very  ones  who  clustered  round  me ;  but  there  were 
times  when  I  wanted  to  do  right  and  tried  to  be  good,  but  I 
couldn't  do  it.  Once  I  went  to  a  strange  place  and  tried  to  get 
honest  work ;  but  the  people  looked  at  me  with  suspicion,  and 
no  one  would  employ  me — and  then  I  cursed  them  all,  and  re- 
turned to  the  only  means  I  had  of  earning  my  bread.    I  was  not 


94  Book  of  Knowledge. 

always  the  bad  thing  you  see  me ;  I  was  once  a  fair,  gay-hearted 
girl;  they  flattered  and  spoiled  me  at  home  till  my  head  was 
turned,  and  when  a  young  fellow  asked  me  to  run  away  with 
him  and  get  married  I  went.  He  did  not  give  me  a  wedding 
ring,  but  he  robbed  me  of  my  honor  and  then  deserted  me.  I 
went  home,  but  my  father  said  I  was  no  child  of  his,  and  my 
mother  was  dead,  and  so  I  turned  away  to  the  vile  life  of  the 
streets.  Don't  think  I  am  all  bad,"  she  moaned,  lifting  her 
heavy  eyes  to  mine ;  "  I  was  true  to  Jack ;  such  as  I  was,  I  was 
all  his  after  I  came  to  love  him.  I  would  go  to  him  now  if  I 
could  find  him.  I  clung  close  to  him  all  through  the  trial,  and 
if  they  had  hanged  him,  I  should  have  cursed  them.  But  they 
took  him  away,  and  somehow  I  lost  him  and  got  here.  I  love 
him  and  I  want  to  find  him ;  he  must  be  lonesome.  Help  me  to 
go  to  him." 

The  woman  clung  to  me  in  desperate  supplication;  all  the 
fear  and  horror  vanished  from  my  heart,  and  a  feeling  of  great 
compassion  seized  me.  She  had  been  wicked,  and  vile,  and  de- 
graded, but  she  was  a  human  creature.  Was  she  not  worth 
helping?  She  had  once  been  innocent,  and  pure  and  sweet. 
Could  I  help  her  to  find  her  lost  purity  and  draw  her  to  a  realiza- 
tion of  a  better  life?  Heaven  helping  me,  I  would  do  what  I 
could. 

I  will  not  pause  to  tell  you  how  I  labored.  I  know  now  that 
an  inspiration  and  an  assistance  from  higher  sources  guided  me 
on.  Once  we  both  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  sweet,  mild  counte- 
nance beaming  upon  us  through  the  shadows,  but  she  cried  in 
terror,  "That  is  my  mother;  take  her  away!  take  her  away! 
Don't  let  her  see  me  like  this ! "  and  it  vanished. 

I  told  her  of  the  truths  I  had  learned  from  angelic  visitors 
through  my  medium  sister  on  earth ;  of  the  purposes  of  life,  of 
how  each  should  strive,  in  repenting  of  any  past  sin,  to  atone  for 
it  by  trying  to  think  holier  thoughts,  do  better  work,  and  to 
believe  kindly  things  of  all  people.  I  gave  her  brief  lessons  at 
first ;  I  showed  her  that  I  sympathized  with  her,  and  pitied  her 
sad  condition,  and  taught  her  that  if  /  believed  in  her  power  to 
become  purer  and  happier,  how  much  greater  faith  and  love 
must  the  angels  have.     She  understood  me;  she  knew  I  was 


Controls  and  Mediums.  95 

not  selfish  in  my  desire  to  lighten  her  sorrows.  She  clung  to 
me,  and  gave  me  a  kind  of  dumb  devotion  very  touching  to  wit- 
ness. "  Only  help  me  to  get  to  Jack,"  she  would  say,  "  and  I 
will  go  anywhere  or  do  anything  to  show  my  gratitude,  or  to 
help  any  other  poor  thing  like  myself !  " 

But  first  we  found  that  she  must  do  other  work,  and  she 
began  to  manifest  a  desire  to  hunt  up  some  of  the  poor  girls 
who  had  occupied  her  den  of  iniquity  on  earth,  and  to  help  them. 
I  accompanied  her  in  her  quest,  and  in  three  instances,  by  our 
united  will  and  influence,  we  succeeded  in  turning  erring  human 
souls  into  paths  of  rectitude  and  right-doing.  When  the  third 
effort  to  save  a  fellow  creature  had  been  successfully  made,  I 
said  to  her,  "I  think  now  we  can  find  Jack,"  and  in  a  little 
while  we  did  so,  found  him  the  lonely  occupant  of  a  stone  cell ; 
and  in  the  still  hours  of  the  night  calling  upon  the  name  of  her 
whose  life  he  had  destroyed,  crying,  "  Kate !  Kate !  I  was  mad 
to  do  it !  For  God's  sake  come  and  help  me  out  of  this  cursed 
place." 

For  awhile  I  tarried ;  long  enough  to  see  Kate  fling  herself 
by  the  side  of  the  criminal  with  a  great  cry  of  love  and  tender- 
ness, a  cry  that  revealed  the  depths  of  her  heart  to  be  still 
womanly,  and  loving,  and  warm;  long  enough  to  know  that, 
through  the  ministrations  of  this  spirit  and  by  the  teachings  of 
a  lovely  woman  who  weekly  visited  the  prisoner  in  his  cell — 
a  woman  sent  to  the  jail  by  a  liberal  Unitarian  society,  to  take 
a  flower  and  a  kindly  word  to  the  imprisoned  human  beings 
there — a  work  of  regeneration  would  be  wrought  in  the  heart 
of  that  rough  and  sinful  man  that  would  develop  its  first  im- 
pulses of  goodness. 

Then  I  turned  to  go.  My  charge  drew  near  and  whispered, 
"  God  bless  you !  You  have  given  me  faith  in  Him  and  love 
for  my  fellow  creatures.  From  the  moment  when  you  first 
spoke  so  pityingly  to  me  and  said  you  was  a  sufferer,  too,  and 
could  sympathize  with  such  as  me,  I  loved  you ;  I  longed  to  con- 
fide in  you  then,  but  could  not  till  afterwards.  God  bless  you 
forever !  " 

I  gave  her  a  parting  embrace — why  should  I  not  ?  Was  she 
not  my  sister  woman,  and  was  she  not  nobly  redeeming  the 


96  Book  of  Knowledge. 

errors  of  the  past  ?  and  departed  with  a  feeling  akin  to  peace  in 
my  heart  that  had  not  for  a  long  while  dwelt  upon  its  own 
sorrows ;  and  constantly  the  words  rang  through  my  soul,  "  In- 
asmuch as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
children,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me !  "  How  sweet  and  holy  they 
sounded,  and  how  beautiful  their  application  to  the  blessing 
called  down  upon  me  by  my  repentant  friend ! 

I  thought,  "  I  will  go  to  the  sorrowful  country  again,  but  I 
will  not  grieve  hopelessly  over  the  past;  I  will  strive  to  help 
others  who  are  in  woe;  I  may  even  find  a  blessing  outside  the 
gates." 

Once  more  I  found  myself  in  the  old  place;  but  again  the 
golden  bars  gleamed  brighter  in  the  clear  beyond ;  the  air  grew 
less  heavy,  and  now  I  could  see  further  into  the  haze  that 
wrapped  its  folds  over  all  the  place.  Glancing  down  as  1  moved 
along,  I  discovered  a  tiny  flower  occasionally  appearing  at  my 
feet.  "  Ah !  "  I  thought,  "  this  is  not  such  a  gloomy  spot  after 
all.  The  darkness  seems  to  be  more  within  ourselves  than  in 
our  surroundings."  I  glanced  at  my  garments;  they  had  as- 
sumed the  appearance  of  a  dark  gray,  and  were  fresher  and 
brighter  than  before. 

Now  I  took  a  genuine  interest  in  those  around  me,  and  as 
I  approached  them  I  found  that  I  could  read  their  condition  and 
their  sorrows,  and  that  I  had  no  need  to  ask  an  utterance  of 
them.  One  woman  had  lived  a  life  of  deceptive  practises ;  after 
winning  her  confidence  I  revealed  my  history  to  her,  and 
showed  her  how  I  had  found  rehef  and  comfort,  and  bade  her 
do  likewise,  by  taking  interest  in  her  fellow  suflferers.  Another 
was  wrapped  in  such  a  contemplation  of  her  own  pride  and 
what  she  considered  to  be  her  virtues — but  what  appeared  to 
me  as  follies — that  I  could  make  no  impression  on  her.  One 
man  had  been  respected  and  loved  by  his  earthly  family  and 
friends,  but  he  had  been  a  defaulter  to  a  large  amount  in  the 
establishment  in  which  he  was  employed,  and  when  his  crime 
was  discovered  he  took  his  own  life.  Here  in  the  spirit  world 
he  was  fully  alive  to  his  wrong-doing,  and  his  soul  was  wrung 
in  torture.  The  knowledge  of  the  ignominy  he  had  brought 
upon  his  innocent  family  lashed  him  into  frenzy.     I  pitied  him 


Controls  and  Mediums.  97 

from  the  depths  of  my  heart,  and  for  a  long  time  sought  in  vain 
to  win  his  attention.  At  length  he  gave  it  to  me  with  an  air 
of  sufferance ;  but  as  I  proceeded  to  talk  to  him — inspired  as  I 
believe  by  some  good  angel — he  grew  interested  and  even  ani- 
mated ;  and  when  I  closed  by  advising  him  to  confess  his  error 
and  his  pain  to  those  he  had  wronged,  and  to  send  a  private 
message  of  love  and  contrition  to  his  wife  and  children,  he 
consented  to  do  so  if  I  would  show  him  how. 

The  work  was  successfully  performed.  We  found  a  pure- 
minded  medium,  a  woman  in  private  life,  who  gladly  received 
the  humiliated  spirit  and  sent  his  communications  to  those  for 
whom  they  were  intended.  Weak  and  humbled,  but  with  a 
lightened  heart,  the  sorrowing  man  sought  his  former  home, 
and  avowed  to  me  his  purpose  of  working  constantly  to  bless 
those  he  had  wronged. 

In  the  border  land  "  outside  the  gates  "  I  have  seen  the 
defiant  brawler,  the  reckless  gambler,  and  the  bold  and  lawless 
woman  of  shame ;  those  who  still  hold  their  old  hardihood  are 
not  yet  prepared  for  spiritual  ministrations;  they  are  neither 
teachable  nor  tractable;  but  many  from  all  depths  of  former 
debasement  are  ready  to  be  operated  upon  by  higher  influences, 
as  their  contrite,  repentant  attitude  attests,  and  they  are 
promptly  attended  to  by  invisible  but  constant  protectors  and 
guides. 

On  my  return  from  that  visit  to  the  lovely  medium  with  my 
new-found  charge,  I  met  in  the  twilight  of  earth  the  figure  of 
a  female  whose  face  was  buried  on  her  arm,  and  who  stood  with 
her  back  toward  me.  Her  whole  attitude  was  one  of  shame 
and  despair.  I  approached,  and  laying  my  hand  on  her  arm, 
whispered,  "  I  am  a  friend ;  let  me  share  your  sorrow ;  perhaps 
I  can  help  you  to  find  peace."  She  trembled  and  shrank  from 
rny  touch,  but  did  not  lift  her  head. 

Again  I  essayed  to  draw  her  toward  me,  but  without  success. 
I  could  see  the  agitation  of  her  mind  and  read  her  interior  con- 
dition. 

"  Come,  my  friend,"  I  repeated,  "  let  me  share  your  burden. 
You  are  sad  because  of  past  errors.  You  feel  that  you  were 
unfaithful  to  a  holy  mission ;  that  yours  was  a  high  calling,  and 
7 


98  Book  of  Knowledge. 

you  were  not  equal  to  its  fulfilment.  You  now  mourn  because 
you  prostituted  sacred  gifts  to  base  ends.  Do  not  shrink  from 
me ;  I  do  not  condemn  you ;  a  higher  judge  than  I  must  alone 
bring  you  judgment.  I  pity  and  would  help  you.  Give  me 
your  confidence." 

At  my  words  the  woman  raised  her  face  and  fastened  a 
penetrating  gaze  upon  me,  as  if  to  read  my  sincerity.  She  must 
have  been  satisfied  for  she  demanded,  "  Do  you  know  who  and 
what  I  am?  "  Assuring  her  that  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  of 
her  before,  she  continued :  "  You  have  truly  stated  my  condition 
of  mind.  It  is  two  years  since  I  left  the  body,  and  I  am  still 
restless  and  miserable.  I  linger  here  or  around  my  old  home, 
but  with  no  thought  but  the  everlasting  regret  that  fills  my 
soul  over  the  life  of  the  past.  You  look  like  one  who  has  suf- 
fered ;  I  will  tell  you  of  my  past.  Do  you  know  what  it  is  to  be 
a  medium?  " 

She  hurled  the  question  at  me  as  though  it  had  been  a  ball 
from  a  cannon,  so  short  and  sharp  and  swift  were  her  words. 

"  I  know  something  of  the  trials  and  conditions  of  medium- 
ship,"  I  softly  answered.  "  I  have  had  mediumistic  powers 
myself,  and  I  have  a  loved  sister  on  earth  who  is  a  mouthpiece 
for  the  angels." 

"  God  grant  that  she  may  be  ever  kept  a  pure  instrument 
for  angelic  power,  and  be  saved  from  the  temptations  and 
snares  that  sometimes  beset  such  as  she,"  ejaculated  my  com- 
panion. "  If  you  are  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  mediumship, 
perhaps  you  know  something  of  the  influences  and  conditions 
that  sway  its  subjects ;  acted  upon  by  unseen  intelligences,  they 
become  very  susceptible  and  sensitive,  and  are  open  to  the  con- 
trol of  the  influences  who  come  about  them.  I  was  a  medium 
on  earth — one  well  known  in  a  certain  quarter.  I  was  sought 
by  all  classes  of  persons  who  through  interest  or  anxiety  or 
curiosity  wished  to  learn  something  of  the  invisible  world 
through  my  occult  powers. 

"  For  some  years  I  successfully  practised  my  profession  as 
a  reliable  and  honest  medium  for  the  spirit  world;  but  after  a 
while  I  found  my  powers  failing;  I  could  not  always  receive 
intelligence  from  my  controls  when  I  most  needed  it.     I  was 


Controls  and  Mediums.  99 

told  by  other  mediums  that  my  development  was  changing,  and 
that  soon  I  would  become  a  medium  of  remarkable  power.  Ah ! 
then  the  temptation  fell  upon  me  to  supplement  my  genuine 
gifts  with  fraudulent  practises.  I  let  it  become  known  that  I 
was  developing  wonderful  powers,  and  in  a  little  while  I  opened 
my  house  to  the  surging  public. 

"I  cannot  repeat  all  the  miserable  artifices  I  used  to  deceive 
those  who  came  to  me  for  light — for  light !  Oh,  my  God !  and 
I  gave  them  darkness  and  deception !  I  coined  money ;  I  made 
many  friends,  who,  had  they  known  me  as  I  was,  would  have 
scorned  me. 

"  But  I  parted  with  my  self-respect ;  I  lost  the  dear  spirit 
friends  who  had  formerly  guided  me ;  I  failed  in  health,  and  at 
last  I  passed  from  the  body. 

"  You  do  not  know  how  I  suffered ;  how  I  longed  to  be  free 
from  the  fetters  I  had  myself  forged ;  how  I  loathed  the  deceiv- 
ing influences  who  helped  me  to  go  on  in  my  evil  course,  and 
whom  I  had  myself  by  my  own  folly  drawn  around  me.  It  did 
not  make  me  happy  to  see  my  friends  deceived ;  I  was  not  with- 
out conscience,  and  the  terrible  weight  on  my  mind  sent  me 
untimely  from  the  body." 

She  paused  in  her  recital,  but  I  encouraged  her  to  proceed, 
knowing  that  the  effort  would  relieve  her  sorrows.  "  Since 
then,"  she  continued,  "  I  have  wandered  aimlessly  back  and 
forth,  regretting  my  past  mistakes  and  doing  no  good.  Twice 
I  have  seen  the  sweet  little  innocent  who  was  my  messenger 
spirit  in  days  past;  but  I  could  not  bear  to  look  at  her  and  I 
turned  away.  Oh !  how  I  have  longed  to  throw  myself  at  the 
feet  of  all  mediums  and  shriek  in  their  ears,  *  For  God's  sake 
be  true  to  yourselves!  For  your  own  future  peace  of  mind  give 
nothing  in  the  name  of  the  spirit  world  that  does  not  emanate  from 
its  inhabitants!  Be  faithfid  to  your  holy  work!'  And  oh!  that 
all  would  heed  my  words.  I  know  not  any  who  are  impure  or 
dishonest ;  all  may  be  true,  for  aught  I  know.  I  was  unfaithful 
to  my  gifts,  and  I  am  wretched !  " 

She  ended  with  a  wail  of  woe.  Then,  ah !  then^  how  I 
talked  to  her;  how  I  implored  her  to  work  for  the  atonement 
of  her  sin ;  how  I  pleaded  to  take  her  to  a  true-hearted  medium 


loo  Book  of  Knowledge. 

whom  I  knew,  through  whose  instrumentaHty  she  might  work 
a  redeeming  power  for  souls  in  bondage. 

At  length  she  consented  to  accompany  me;  and  with  her  I 
retraced  my  way  to  the  medium  whom  I  had  visited  before.  To 
this  medium  my  companion  repeated  her  unhappy  tale;  she 
was  received  kindly,  and  gently  invited  to  come  again.  Not  to 
enlarge,  I  will  simply  say  that  this  unhappy  spirit  became  a  con- 
stant visitor  to  that  beautiful  medium,  through  whose  ministra- 
tions of  love  she  gained  magnetic  strength  to  begin  a  new  work 
for  humanity. 

After  a  period  of  trial  she  became  a  "  cabinet  spirit "  for  a 
genuine  and  noble-hearted  medium,  whose  materializing  powers 
were  grandly  employed  by  a  wise  band  of  intelligences  for  de- 
monstrating the  truths  of  immortality  to  eager  humanity ;  and  in 
aiding  inexperienced  spirits  to  manifest  to  friends,  in  giving 
loving  messages  for  those  spirits  who  could  not  express  them- 
selves, and  in  speaking  words  of  counsel  and  admonition  to 
those  who  come  to  her  for  instruction,  she  is  performing  a 
grand  work,  and  is  nobly  atoning  for  the  mistakes  and  errors  of 
her  earthly  career. 

But  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the  hidden 
wisdom  which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our  glory, 
I  Cor.  II,  7. 

So  many  people  whom  I  know  speak  in  whispers  about  Spir- 
itualism, and  when  they  go  to  a  medium,  it  is  under  cover.  They 
will  get  information  many  times,  and  yet  they  will  not  give  credit 
to  the  dear  ones.  If  they  are  ashamed  of  it,  why  do  they  ask  for 
help?  But  he  that  denieth  me  before  men  shall  be  denied  before 
the  angels  of  God.  St.  Luke,  XII,  9.  I  am  receiving  letters  daily 
from  people  asking  information  through  the  "  Power,"  and  they 
acknowledge  to  me  the  benefits  they  receive  through  it,  and  yet 
to  their  friends  they  will  not  do  so.  Friends,  be  candid  with  your 
angel  loved  ones.  Be  as  true  to  them  as  you  would  be  to  your 
loved  ones  here.  When  you  receive  the  truth,  acknowledge  it 
openly ;  by  your  doing  so  others  will  learn  of  the  hereafter.  Since 
I  have  known  that  there  is  a  living  God  and  that  my  sacred  mother 
still  lives,  my  life  has  been  a  constant  prayer.  Many  people  have 
asked  me  if  I  believe  in  prayer ;  certainly  I  do.    My  sister  "  Sun- 


Controls  and  Mediums.  loi 

shine '"  said  (in  answer  to  a  question  as  to  which  is  the  best  way 
to  pray,  mentally  or  audibly),  "The  vibrations  from  the  voice 
act  in  a  manner  similar  to  a  telegraph  wire,  so  does  audible  prayer 
vibrate  and  connect  with  the  God-power,"  but  mental  prayers 
count,  too.  I  am  going  to  give  here  some  instances  where  prayers 
have  been  answered : 


REMARKABLE  EXPERIENCE  OF  C.  H.  SPURGEON. 

On  his  fiftieth  birthday.  Rev.  C.  H.  Spurgeon  was  interviewed 
in  reference  to  his  long  and  eventful  ministerial  life,  especially  as 
to  his  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  Being  asked  whether 
he  had  in  any  way  modified  his  views,  he  replied: 

"  Only  in  my  faith  growing  far  stronger  and  firmer  than  ever. 
It  is  not  a  matter  of  faith  with  me,  but  of  knowledge  and  every- 
day experience.  I  am  constantly  witnessing  the  most  unmistak- 
able instances  of  answers  to  prayer.  My  whole  life  is  made  up 
of  them.  To  me  they  are  so  familiar  as  to  cease  to  excite  sur- 
prise ;  but  to  many  they  would  seem  marvellous,  no  doubt.  Why, 
I  could  no  more  doubt  the  efficacy  of  prayer  than  I  could  disbelieve 
the  laws  of  gravitation.  The  one  is  as  much  a  fact  as  the  other, 
constantly  verified  every  day  in  my  life.  Elijah,  by  the  brook 
Cherith,  as  he  received  the  daily  rations  from  the  ravens,  could 
hardly  be  a  more  likely  subject  for  skepticism  than  I. 

"  Look  at  my  orphanage.  To  keep  it  going  entails  an  annual 
expenditure  of  about  ten  thousand  pounds.  Only  one  thousand 
four  hundred  is  provided  by  endowment.  The  remaining  eight 
thousand  six  hundred  comes  to  me  regularly  in  answer  to  prayer. 
I  do  not  know  where  I  shall  get  it  from  day  to  day.  I  ask  God 
for  it  and  He  sends  it.  Mr.  MuUer,  of  Bristol,  does  the  same  on 
a  far  larger  scale,  and  his  experience  is  the  same  as  mine. 

"  The  constant  flow  of  funds — of  all  the  funds  necessary  to 
carry  on  these  works — is  not  stimulated  by  advertisements,  by 
begging  letters,  by  canvassing,  or  any  of  the  usual  modes  of  rais- 
ing the  wind.  We  ask  God  for  the  cash,  and  He  sends  it.  That 
is  a  good,  material  fact,  not  to  be  explained  away. 

"  But  quite  as  remarkable  illustrations  of  the  efficacy  of  be- 


102  Book  of  Knowledge. 

lieving  faith  are  constantly  occurring  in  spiritual  things.  Some 
two  years  ago,  a  poor  woman,  accompanied  by  her  neighbors, 
came  to  my  vestry  in  deep  distress.  Her  husband  had  fled  the 
country ;  in  her  sorrow  she  went  to  the  house  of  God,  and  some- 
thing I  said  in  the  sermon  made  her  think  I  was  personally  famil- 
iar with  her  case.  Of  course,  I  had  known  nothing  about  her. 
It  was  a  general  illustration  that  fitted  a  particular  case.  She 
told  me  her  story,  and  a  very  sad  one  it  was.  I  said :  '  There  is 
nothing  we  can  do  but  to  kneel  down  and  cry  to  the  Lord  for 
the  immediate  conversion  of  your  husband.'  We  knelt  down,  and 
I  prayed  that  the  Lord  would  touch  the  heart  of  the  deserter, 
convert  his  soul,  and  bring  him  back  to  his  home.  When  we 
arose  from  our  knees,  I  said  to  the  poor  woman,  *  Do  not  fret 
about  the  matter.  I  feel  sure  that  your  husband  will  come  home, 
and  that  he  will  yet  become  connected  with  our  church.'  She 
went  away,  and  I  forgot  all  about  it.  Some  months  after,  she 
reappeared,  with  her  neighbors,  and  a  man  whom  she  introduced 
to  me  as  her  husband.  He  had  indeed  come  back,  and  he  had  re- 
turned a  converted  man.  On  making  inquiry  and  comparing 
notes,  we  found  that  the  very  day  on  which  we  had  prayed  for 
his  conversion,  he,  being  at  that  time  on  board  a  ship  far  away 
on  the  sea,  stumbled  most  unexpectedly  upon  a  stray  copy  of 
one  of  my  sermons.  He  read  it.  The  truth  went  to  his  heart. 
He  repented,  and  sought  the  Lord,  and  as  soon  as  possible  he 
returned  to  his  wife  and  to  his  daily  calling.  He  was  admitted  a 
member,  and  last  Monday  his  wife,  who  up  to  that  time  had  not 
been  a  member,  was  received  among  us.  That  woman  does  not 
doubt  the  power  of  prayer.  All  the  infidels  in  the  world  could  not 
shake  her  conviction  that  there  is  a  God  that  answereth  prayer. 
"  I  should  be  the  most  irrational  creature  in  the  world  if,  with 
a  life  every  day  of  which  is  full  of  experiences  so  remarkable, 
I  entertained  the  slightest  doubt  on  the  subject.  I  do  not  regard 
it  as  miraculous ;  it  is  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  established  order 
of  the  universe,  that  the  shadow  of  a  coming  event  should  fall 
in  advance  upon  some  believing  soul  in  the  shape  of  prayer  for 
its  realization.  The  prayer  of  faith  is  a  Divine  decree  commenc- 
ing its  operation." — "  Faith  Made  Easy." 


Controls  and  Mediums.  103 

ANNIE  AND  VANIE'S  FIRST  REAL  PRAYER. 

Two  sisters,  one  about  five  years  of  age,  the  other  older, 
were  accustomed  to  go  each  Saturday  morning  some  distance 
from  home,  to  get  chips  and  shavings  from  a  cooper  shop. 

One  morning,  with  basket  well  filled,  they  were  returning 
home  when  the  elder  one  was  taken  suddenly  sick  with  cramps 
or  cholera.  She  was  in  great  pain  and  unable  to  proceed,  much 
less  to  bear  the  basket  home.  She  sat  down  on  the  basket,  and 
the  younger  one  held  her  from  falling.  The  street  was  a  lonely 
one,  occupied  by  work-shops,  factories,  etc.  Every  one  was  busy 
within;  not  a  person  was  seen  on  the  street.  The  little  girls 
were  at  a  loss  what  to  do.  Too  timid  to  go  into  any  work-shop, 
they  sat  awhile  as  silent  and  quiet  as  the  distressing  pains  v/ould 
allow.  Soon  the  elder  girl  said,  "  You  know,  Annie,  that  a  good 
while  ago  Mother  told  us  that  if  we  ever  got  into  trouble,  we 
should  pray  and  God  would  help  us.  Now  you  help  me  to  get 
down  upon  my  knees  and  hold  me  up  and  we  will  pray."  There, 
on  the  side-walk,  did  these  two  little  children  ask  God  to  send  some 
one  to  help  them  home.  The  simple  and  brief  prayer  being  ended, 
the  sick  girl  was  again  helped  up,  and  sat  on  the  basket,  waiting 
the  answer  to  their  prayers. 

Presently  Annie  saw,  far  down  the  street  on  the  opposite  side, 
a  man  come  out  from  a  factory,  look  around  him,  up  and  down 
the  street,  and  go  back  into  the  factory. 

"  Oh,  sister,  he  has  gone  in  again,"  said  Annie.  "  Well,"  said 
Vanie,  "  perhaps  he  is  not  the  one  God  is  going  to  send.  If  he  is, 
he  will  come  back  again." 

"  There  he  comes  again,"  said  Annie.  "  He  walks  this  way. 
He  seems  looking  for  something.  He  walks  slowly,  and  is  with- 
out his  hat.  He  puts  his  hand  to  his  head,  as  if  he  did  not  know 
what  to  do.    Oh,  sister,  he  has  gone  in  again ;  what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  That  may  not  be  the  one  whom  God  will  send  to  help  us," 
said  Vanie.    "  If  he  is,  he  will  come  out  again." 

"  Oh,  yes,  there  he  is ;  this  time  with  his  hat  on,"  said  Annie. 
*'  He  looks  this  way ;  he  walks  slowly,  looking  around  on  every 
side.  He  does  not  see  us;  perhaps  the  trees  hide  us.  Now  he 
sees  us,  and  is  coming  quickly." 


I04  Book  of  Knowledge. 

A  brawny  German,  in  broken  accents,  asks :  "  Oh,  children, 
what  is  the  matter  ?  "  "  Oh  sir,"  said  Annie,  "  sister  here  is  so 
sick  she  cannot  walk,  and  we  cannot  get  home." 

"  Where  do  you  live,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  At  the  end  of  this  street ;  you  can  see  the  house  from  here." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  the  man,  "  I  takes  you  home."  So  the 
strong  man  gathered  the  sick  child  in  his  arms,  and  with  her  head 
pillowed  upon  his  shoulder,  carried  her  to  the  place  pointed  out 
by  the  younger  girl.  Annie  ran  round  the  house  to  tell  her  mother 
that  there  was  a  man  at  the  front  door  wishing  to  see  her.  The 
astonished  mother,  with  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  joy,  took  charge 
of  the  precious  burden,  and  the  child  was  laid  upon  a  bed. 

After  thanking  the  man  she  expected  him  to  withdraw,  but 
instead,  he  stood  turning  his  hat  in  his  hands,  as  one  who  wishes 
to  say  something,  but  knows  not  how  to  begin.  The  mother, 
observing  this,  repeated  her  thanks,  and  finally  said,  "  Would  you 
like  me  to  pay  you  for  bringing  my  child  home?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  he  with  tears,  "  God  pays  me !  God  pays  me ! 
I  would  like  to  tell  you  something,  but  I  speak  English  so  poorly 
that  I  fear  you  will  not  understand."  The  mother  assured  him 
that  she  was  used  to  the  German,  and  could  understand  him  very 
well. 

"  I  am  the  proprietor  of  an  ink  factory,"  said  he.  "  My  men 
work  by  the  piece.  I  have  to  keep  separate  accounts  with  each. 
I  pay  them  every  Saturday.  At  twelve  o'clock  they  will  be  at  my 
desk  for  their  money.  This  week  I  have  had  many  hindrances, 
and  was  behind  with  my  books.  I  was  working  hard  at  them 
with  the  sweat  on  my  face,  in  my  great  anxiety  to  be  ready  in 
time.  Suddenly  I  could  not  see  the  figures ;  the  words  in  the  book 
all  ran  together,  and  I  had  a  plain  impression  on  my  mind  that 
some  one  in  the  street  wished  to  see  me.  I  went  out,  looked  up 
and  down  the  street,  but  seeing  no  one  went  back  to  my  desk 
and  wrote  a  little.  Presently  the  darkness  was  greater  than 
before,  and  the  impression  stronger  than  before,  that  some  one 
in  the  street  needed  me.  Again  I  went  out  and  looked  up  and 
down  the  street,  walked  a  little  way,  puzzled  to  know  what  it 
meant.  Was  my  hard  work,  and  v/ere  the  cares  of  business  driv- 
ing me  out  of  my  wits?    Unable  to  solve  the  mystery,  I  turned 


Controls  and  Mediums,  105 

again  into  my  shop  and  to  my  desk.  This  time  my  fingers  re- 
fused to  grasp  the  pen.  I  found  myself  unable  to  write  a  word 
or  make  a  figure;  but  the  impression  was  stronger  than  ever  in 
my  mind  that  some  one  needed  my  help.  A  voice  seemed  to 
say,  '  Why  don't  you  go  out  as  I  tell  you  ?  There  is  need  of  your 
help.'  This  time  I  took  my  hat  on  going  out,  resolved  to  stay 
until  I  found  out  whether  I  was  losing  my  senses,  or  there  was 
a  duty  for  me  to  do.  I  walked  some  distance  without  seeing  any 
one,  and  was  more  and  more  puzzled,  till  I  came  opposite  the 
children,  and  found  that  there  was  indeed  need  of  my  help.  I 
cannot  understand  it,  madam." 

As  the  noble  German  was  about  leaving  the  house  the  younger 
girl  had  the  courage  to  say :  "  O,  mother,  we  prayed."  Thus  the 
mystery  was  solved,  and  with  tear-stained  cheeks,  a  heaving 
breast,  and  a  humble,  grateful  heart,  the  kind  man  went  back  to 
his  accounts. 

I  have  enjoyed  many  a  happy  hour  in  conversation  with  Annie 
in  her  own  house  since  she  has  a  home  of  her  own.  The  last 
I  knew  of  Annie  and  Vanie,  they  were  living  in  the  same  city, 
earnest  Christian  women.  Their  children  were  growing  up 
around  them,  and,  I  hope,  will  have  like  confidence  in  mother, 
and  faith  in  God. 

SEND  FOOD  TO  JOHN. 

On  the  summit  of  Washington  Mountain,  overlooking  the 
Housatonic  valley,  stood  a  hut,  the  home  of  John  Barry,  a  poor 
charcoal-burner,  whose  family  consisted  of  his  wife  and  himself. 
His  occupation  brought  him  in  but  a  few  dollars,  and  when  cold 
weather  came  he  had  managed  to  .get  together  only  a  small  por-. 
tion  of  provisions  for  the  winter.  The  fall  of  1874,  after  a  sum- 
mer of  hard  work,  he  felt  sick  and  was  unable  to  keep  his  fires 
going.  So,  when  the  snow  of  December,  1874,  fell,  and  the  drifts 
had  shut  off  communication  with  the  village  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  John  and  his  wife  were  in  great  straits. 

Their  entire  stock  of  food  consisted  of  only  a  few  pounds  of 
salt  pork  and  a  bushel  of  potatoes;  sugar,  flour,  coffee  and  tea 
had,  early  in  December,  given  out ;  and  the  chances  for  replenish- 


io6  Book  of  Knowledge, 

ing  the  larder  were  slim  indeed.  The  snow-storm  came  again, 
and  the  drifts  deepened.  All  the  roads,  even  in  the  valley,  were 
impassable,  and  no  one  thought  of  trying  to  open  the  mountain 
highways,  which,  even  in  summer,  were  only  occasionally  trav- 
eled ;  and  none  gave  the  old  man  and  his  wife  a  thought. 

December  15th  came,  and  with  it  the  heaviest  fall  of  snow 
experienced  in  Berkshire  county  in  many  years.  The  food  of 
the  old  couple  was  now  reduced  to  a  day's  supply,  but  John  did 
not  yet  despair.  lie  was  a  Christian  and  a  God-fearing  man,  and 
his  promises  were  remembered ;  and  so,  when  evening  came,  and 
the  northeast  gale  was  blowing,  and  the  fierce  snow-storm  was 
raging,  John  and  his  wife  were  praying  and  asking  for  help. 

In  Sheffield  village,  ten  miles  away,  lived  Deacon  Brown,  a 
well-to-do  farmer  fifty  years  old,  who  was  known  for  his  piety 
and  consistent  deportment,  both  as  a  man  and  a  Christian.  The 
deacon  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  bed  early,  and,  in  spite  of  the 
storm  without,  were  sleeping  soundly,  when  with  a  start  the 
deacon  awoke  and  said  to  his  wife :  "  Who  spoke  ?  Who's 
there?"  "Why,"  said  his  wife,  "no  one  is  here  but  you  and 
me ;  what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  "  *'  I  heard  a  voice,"  said  the 
deacon,  "  saying,  '  Send  food  to  John.'  "  "  Nonsense,"  replied 
Mrs.  Brown ;  "  go  to  sleep.  You  have  been  dreaming."  The 
deacon  laid  his  head  on  his  pillow,  and  was  asleep  in  a  minute. 
Soon  he  started  up  again,  and  waking  his  wife,  said,  "  There,  I 
heard  that  voice  again,  '  Send  food  to  John.'  "  "  Well,  well !  " 
said  Mrs.  Brown,  "  Deacon  you  are  not  well ;  your  supper  has 
not  agreed  with  you.  Lie  down  and  try  to  sleep."  Again  the 
deacon  closed  his  eyes,  and  again  the  voice  was  heard :  "  Send 
food  to  John."  This  time  the  deacon  was  thoroughly  awake. 
"  Wife,"  said  he,  "  whom  do  we  know  named  John  who  needs 
food  ?  "  "  No  one  I  remember,"  replied  Mrs.  Brown,  "  unless 
it  be  John  Barry,  the  old  charcoal-burner  on  the  mountain." 

"  That's  it,"  exclaimed  the  deacon ;  "  now  I  remember,  when  I 
was  at  the  store  in  Sheffield  the  other  day,  Clark,  the  merchant, 
speaking  of  John  Barry,  said:  '  I  wonder  if  the  old  man  is  alive, 
for  it  is  six  weeks  since  I  saw  him,  and  he  has  not  yet  laid  in 
his  winter  stock  of  groceries.'  It  must  be  old  John  is  sick  and 
wanting  food." 


Controls  and  Mediums.  107 

So  saying,  the  good  deacon  arose  and  proceeded  to  dress  him- 
self. "  Come,  wife,"  said  he,  "  waken  our  boy  Willie  and  tell 
him  to  feed  the  horses,  and  get  ready  to  go  with  me;  and  do 
you  pack  up  in  the  two  largest  baskets  you  have  a  good  supply  of 
food,  and  get  us  an  early  breakfast,  for  I  am  going  up  the  moun- 
tain to  carry  the  food  I  know  John  Barry  needs." 

Mrs.  Brown,  accustomed  to  the  sudden  impulses  of  her  good 
husband,  and  believing  him  to  be  always  in  the  right,  cheerfully 
complied ;  and  after  a  hot  breakfast.  Deacon  Brown  and  his  son 
Willie,  a  boy  of  nineteen,  hitched  up  the  horses  to  the  double 
sleigh,  and  then,  with  a  month's  supply  of  food  and  a  "  Good- 
bye, mother,"  started  at  five  o'clock  on  that  cold  December  morn- 
ing for  a  journey  that  almost  any  other  than  Deacon  Brown  and 
his  son  Willie  would  not  have  dared  to  undertake. 

The  northeast  storm  was  still  raging,  and  the  snow  falling 
and  drifting  fast ;  but  on,  on  went  the  stout,  well-fed  team  on  its 
errand  of  mercy,  while  the  occupants  of  the  sleigh,  wrapped  up 
in  blankets  and  extra  buffalo  robes,  urged  the  horses  through  the 
drifts  and  in  the  face  of  the  storm.  That  ten  miles*  ride,  which 
required  in  the  summer  hardly  an  hour  or  two,  was  not  finished 
until  the  deacon's  watch  showed  that  five  hours  had  passed. 

At  last  they  drew  up  in  front  of  the  hut  where  the  poor,  trust- 
ing Christian  man  and  woman  were  on  their  knees  praying  for 
help  to  Him  who  is  the  "  hearer  and  answerer  of  prayers ; "  and 
as  the  deacon  reached  the  door  he  heard  the  voice  of  supplication, 
and  then  he  knew  that  the  message  which  awakened  him  from 
sleep  was  sent  from  heaven.  He  knocked  at  the  door,  it  was 
opened,  and  we  can  imagine  the  joy  of  the  old  couple,  when  the 
generous  supply  of  food  was  carried  in,  and  the  thanksgivings 
that  were  uttered  by  the  starving  tenants  of  that  mountain  hut. — 
Albany  Journal. 

I  have  never  prayed  for  money,  nor  for  anything  selfishly. 
I  have  stood  by  the  bedside  of  those  who  were  nigh  unto  death, 
and  prayed  from  my  soul  to  let  them  remain  longer  on  this  earth, 
and  I  know  my  prayers  have  been  answered.  I  have  a  sanctuary 
fn  my  home,  and  I  enter  it  every  night  to  be  alone  with  God  and 
my  loved  ones.  I  not  only  hear  in  my  ear  the  dear  voices,  but 
I  also  hear  them  independently,  and  am  also  getting  them  in 


io8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  light.  We  frequently  hear  the  raps  at  Our  dinner  hour,  and 
each  loved  one  gives  his  or  her  peculiar  rap.  Sometimes  our 
guests  are  quite  surprised.    My  sanctuary  is  my  church. 

God  is  a  spirit :  and  they  that  worship  Him  must  worship  Him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,    St.  John  IV,  24. 

I  have  heard  so  many  peculiar  views  expressed  in  the  office 
in  regard  to  religion.  One  lady  begged  me  not  to  tell  her  mother 
that  I  was  a  Spiritualist,  as  her  mother  was  a  church  member. 
Christ  was  a  "  Spiritualist." 

The  woman  answered  and  said,  I  have  no  husband.  Jesus 
said  unto  her,  Thou  hast  well  said,  I  have  no  husband:  St. 
John  IV,  17. 

For  thou  hast  had  five  husbands;  and  he  whom  thou  now  hast 
is  not  thy  husband;  in  that  saidst  thou  truly.    St.  John  IV,  18. 

The  woman  saith  unto  him,  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou  art  a 
prophet.    St.  John  IV,  19. 

Come  see  a  man,  which  fold  me  all  things  that  ever  I  did:  is 
not  this  the  Christ?    St.  John  IV,  29. 

As  you  see,  dear  readers,  that  the  Christ,  as  I  said  before, 
had  no  creed;  but  He  understood  the  spiritual  laws,  and  tried  to 
make  others  understand  them.  If  those  who  are  so  bitter  against 
►Spiritualism  and  who  object  to  my  being  one  would  just  stop 
and  think  how  it  would  look  when  a  very  sick  man,  woman  or 
child  should  enter  the  office,  if  I  would  ask  them.  What  is  your 
religion?  If  you  do  not  believe  and  have  the  knowledge  as  I 
have,  I  cannot  treat  you ;  how  would  it  sound  to  the  unseen  loved 
ones?  How  would  it  sound  to  the  afflicted  one?  If  I  were  to 
write  here  the  many  foolish  things  I  have  heard,  dear  reader, 
you  would  be  disgusted,  too,  and  be  glad  when  the  day  shall 
come  when  the  people  will  live  the  Christ  life  of  universal  love. 

One  dear  old  Baptist  lady,  who  had  tried  all  the  doctors  she 
had  heard  of,  came  to  me  as  a  last  resort  for  treatment.  She 
was  one  of  the  kind  (and  I  know  many)  who  goes  to  a  psychic, 
under  cover,  and  takes  her  minister  with  her,  but  would  not 
openly  speak  of  the  truths  she  received.  (She  did  have  to  tell 
me.)  This  lady  said  to  me  one  day,  "  What!  do  Catholics  come 
here?"  I  answered,  "Certainly  they  do.  Do  you  not  know,  my 
dear  woman,  that  the  Catholics  are  more  spiritual  than  any  other 


Controls  and  Mediums.  109 

denomination  ?  "  I  have  studied  each  reHgion,  and  while  there  are 
many  things  in  CathoHcism  that  I  do  not  Hke,  still  I  find  them 
more  spiritual  than  any  other  denomination.  Do  they  not  pray 
for  their  departed  friends  ?  Do  they  not  all  pray  together  ?  Are 
they  not  a  unity?  Are  not  their  churches  open  day  and  night, 
so  that  the  people  can  go  in  and  worship  God?  The  poor  people 
are  received  there  as  well  as  the  rich.  When  are  the  Protestant 
churches  open  ?  Only  on  Sundays,  and  possibly  once  a  week  for 
prayer  meeting.  The  poor  people  are  not  received  there  as  they 
should  be.  I  know  the  churches  have  done  and  are  doing  good, 
but  when  I  see  so  many  beautiful  churches  and  so  many  poor 
people,  I  wonder  if  each  family  could  be  helped  to  earn  a  small 
comfortable  home,  would  not  the  air  be  filled  with  prayers  and 
thankfulness  ?  I  have  heard  many  people  say  if  they  could  have 
better  clothes  to  wear,  they  would  go  to  church,  but  they  could 
not  afford  to  go.  Dear  readers,  I  fear  it  is  too  often  the  attitude 
of  the  wealthy  toward  the  poor  that  keeps  them  away.  May  the 
time  be  hastened  when  this  barrier  shall  give  way  to  the  spirit 
of  meekness  and  brotherly  love ! 

S\-DNEY,  Australia,  Jan.  6,  1902. 
Dr.  Nellie  Beighle,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

My  Dear  Friend  and  Co-worker: — ^Your  favor  of  Nov. 
226.  duly  received  at  Battle  Creek  and  forwarded  on  to  me  in 
Australia,  where  I  am  now  lecturing.  I  just  closed  a  two  months* 
engagement  at  Melbourne,  Australia,  and  am  now  in  Sydney, 
speaking  in  the  Unitarian  church  in  the  morning,  and  for  the 
Psychic  Society  of  Spiritualists  in  the  evening  Sundays. 

This  is  my  fourth  journey  around  the  world.  I  have  left  my 
business  in  the  hands  of  my  assistant  physicians,  three  of  them, 
some  of  which  are  Psychics  and  Mental-metaphysicians;  but  I 
have  a  supervision  of  my  work,  while  absent  in  the  body. 

I  was  glad  that  you  were  so  pleased  with  my  article  in 
"  Mind."  I  have  received  very  many  commendations  for  it,  one 
from  Judge  Daily  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  others,  who  are  trust- 
worthy critics  in  their  decision.  I  remember  well  of  meeting 
you  in  San  Francisco,  and  I  know  very  much  of  your  noble  work 
in  healing  the  sick  and  in  encouraging  the  despairing  and  bless- 


no  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ing  those  who  are  afflicted,  whether  physically,  mentally  or  mor- 
ally. Surely  you  are  one  of  the  Saviours  of  the  age.  You  know 
that  an  old  prophet  said  that  a  Saviour  shall  come  up  on  Mt. 
Zion;  and  so  all  over  the  world  are  masculine  and  feminine  sa- 
viours, teachers,  and  grandly-inspired  souls.  I  go  from  here  to 
Tasmania  to  lecture,  then  to  New  Zealand,  Ceylon  and  Egypt, 
and  if  possible,  to  Palestine  again ;  then  to  Rome,  London,  home- 
ward. 

I  am  now  80  years  of  age,  and  right  in  the  morning,  spirit- 
ually. I  could  never  do  so  much  mental  and  spiritual  work  as 
at  present,  and  largely  because  of  the  help  I  received  from  the 
unseen  realm. 

Please  give  my  regards  to  Mr.  Newman,  Mrs.  Foye  and  others. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

J.  M.  Peebles. 

Address  care  of  W.  H.  Terry,  Astral  Building,  Collins  St., 
Melbourne,  Australia. 

The  above  letter  I  received  from  that  grand  man,  J.  M. 
Peebles,  M.D.  All  my  beloved  readers  will  do  well  to  read  his 
interesting  books.  I  will  here  name  a  few  of  them :  "  Travels 
Round  the  World,"  "  Seers  of  the  Ages,"  "  Immortality  and  our 
Future  Home,"  "  Christ  the  Corner  Stone  of  Spiritualism," 
"  Critic  Reviews  of  Rev.  Kips  Against  Spiritualism,"  and  many 
others  which  are  of  great  interest,  and  will  open  many  avenues 
to  the  higher  life,  and  teaching  the  people  how  to  live  here  as 
well.  His  pamphlet  went  on  "  Who  are  these  Spiritualists  ?  "  and 
"  What  is  Spiritualism?  "  I  am  going  to  give  to  my  dear  readers. 
I  have  asked  permission  of  Dr.  Peebles  to  do  so,  and  also  spoken 
to  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Thomas  Newman,  who  is  editor  of  the 
Philosophical  Journal,  published  in  San  Francisco,  as  I  would 
have  to  quote  a  good  deal  or  none  at  all. 

When  I  hear  so  many  people  comment  on  Spiritualism,  of 
course  I  realize  one  thing,  that  a  great  many  do  not  care  to  inves- 
tigate it,  as  they  would  have  to  live  a  purer  life  by  so  doing. 
That  is  why  I  am  so  glad  that  I  can  use  this  pamphlet  to  let  them 
know  that  they  will  have  to  live  a  good  many  years  of  their  lives 
to  equal  the  people  who  are  the  Spiritualists. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
WHO  ARE  THESE  SPIRITUALISTS? 

Thinking — meditating,  Columbus  concluded  that  if  there  was 
a  "  this  side,"  there  must  necessarily  be  a  "  that  side  "  to  the 
world.  And  so  sailing  on,  and  still  onward  towards  the  Western 
sunset  under  the  inspiration  of  a  lofty  faith,  he  discovered  the 
new  world,  and  faith  became  fruition. 

And  so  the  Spiritualists  of  this  century  meditating,  investi- 
gating, discovered,  or  rather  rediscovered,  the  spirit-world — 
the  Spiritualism  of  the  elder  ages.  Intuition,  the  soul-sense  and 
the  ideal  are  ever  prophesying  of  the  incoming  real.  The  to- 
days afire  with  life  and  love  assure  us  of  coming  to-morrows. 
This  world  indicates  another,  a  future  world,  which  Spiritualists 
have  not  only  rediscovered,  but  have  fully  described. 

Spiritualism  does  not  create  truth  but  is  a  living  witness  to 
the  truth  of  a  future  existence.  It  reveals  it,  demonstrates  it, 
describing  its  inhabitants,  their  occupations  and  characteristics. 

Hannibal  crossed  the  Alps  twenty  centuries  before  Napoleon 
did.  Napoleon  reasoned  that  what  man  had  done,  man  could  do, 
and  so  with  flags  and  banners  unfurled  he  led  the  conquering 
French  over  the  snow-capped  Alps.  And  through  all  the  centu- 
ries before  and  since  Hannibal's  time,  through  all  the  historic  ages 
there  were  rifts  in  the  clouds,  there  were  visions  and  voices  from 
the  better  land  of  immortality.  Inspired  mystics  and  philosophers 
testified  alike  to  the  reality  of  apparitions,  the  appearance  of  good 
demons,  and  the  fulfilment  of  dreams.  An  angel  appeared  to 
Joseph  in  a  dream  announcing  the  coming  of  Jesus. 

Patriarchs,  prophets  and  seers  in  Abraham's  and  Isaiah's  time 
conversed  with  spirits  and  angels  according  to  the  Scriptures. 
Apostles,  disciples  and  the  early  Christians  before  and  after  John 
and  Paul's  time,  consciously  communed  with  the  spirits  of  those 
they  had  known  on  earth — and  why  should  not  we?     Neither 


112  Book  of  Knowledge. 

God  nor  His  laws  have  changed.  The  reputed  wise  man  Solomon 
said :  The  things  that  had  been,  is  that  which  shall  be,  and  that 
which  is  done  is  that  which  shall  be  done — and  whatsoever  God 
doeth,  it  shall  be  forever.    Eccl.  Ill,  14. 

If  there  were  visions,  trances,  apparitions,  spiritual  gifts  and 
conscious  spirit  communications  all  through  the  past  ages,  why 
not  now?  Have  the  heavens  over  us  become  brass,  and  have 
angel  tongues  become  palsied?  These  things  did  happen  in  the 
past  and  they  occur  to-day.  And  few,  if  any,  except  the  illiterate, 
except  the  atheist,  the  impudent  bigot  and  the  iron-clad,  creed- 
bound  churchman  deny  it.  Spiritualism  is  most  unpopular  among 
the  ignorant.  It  is  also  unpopular  in  sectarian  club  rooms,  idiotic 
infirmaries  and  State  penetentiaries. 

When  that  highly  inspired  man  of  Nazareth  preached  his  radi- 
cal doctrines  in  Palestine,  and  performed  his  astonishing  medium- 
istic  works,  crowds  following  him,  some  of  the  doubting,  cautious 
conservatives  of  those  times  asked  this  question — "  Have  any  of 
the  rulers  of  the  Pharisees  believed  on  him?  "  If  so,  we,  the 
driftwood — ^we  the  putty-headed  policy  men — will  fall  in  line. 
Human  nature  is  the  same  in  all  ages,  and  moral  cowards  are 
ever  the  same  oily-tongiied  cowards. 

WHAT  IS  SPIRITUALISM? 

Spiritualism  must  be  differentiated  from  spiritism.  The  ter- 
minologies of  the  two  words  absolutely  necessitate,  as  every 
scholar  knows,  entirely  different  meanings.  Chinese,  Indians 
and  Utah  Mormons  are  spiritists,  believing  in  spirit  communica- 
tions. Most  of  the  African  tribes  of  the  Dark  Continent  wor- 
ship demons  and  believe  in  spirit  converse,  but  certainly  they 
are  not  intelligent  and  religious  spiritualists. 

Spiritism  is  a  science — a  fact — a  sort  of  modernized  Baby- 
lonian necromancy.  The  baser  portion  of  its  devotees,  hypno- 
tized by  the  unembodied  denizens  of  Hades,  divine  for  dollars. 
It  is  promiscuous  spirit  commerce  with  a  high  tariff.  It  is  from 
the  lower  spheres,  and  morally  gravitates  towards  the  dark. 
It  has  its  legerdemain,  its  tricksters,  frauds  and  travelling 
tramps.    They  should  be  exposed  and  shunned  as  you  would 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  113 

shun  dens  of  adders.  Spiritism,  I  repeat,  is  a  fact ;  so  is  geology, 
so  is  mesmerism,  so  is  telepathy,  and  so,  also,  is  a  rattlesnake's 
bite.  Facts  may  be  morally  true  or  false.  They  may  serve  for 
purposes  of  good  or  direct  ill.  As  an  exhibition  of  wonders — 
as  pabulum  for  scoffing  atheists  who  demand  visible  sight  of 
the  invisible,  infinite  One,  and  insist  upon  a  terrific  clap  of 
thunder  to  convince  them  of  the  existence  of  electricity,  com- 
mercial spiritism,  with  its  attending  shadowy  hosts  manifesting 
in  ill-ventilated  rooms,  may  be  a  temporal  necessity,  but  it 
legitimately  belongs,  with  such  kindred  subjects  as  mesmerism, 
to  the  category  of  the  sciences. 

But  Spiritualism,  originating  in  God  w'ho  is  Spirit,  and 
grounded  in  man's  moral  nature,  is  a  substantial  fact,  and  in- 
finitely more — a  fact  plus  reason  and  conscience;  a  fact  relat- 
ing to  moral  and  reHgious  culture — a  sublime  spiritual  truth 
ultimating  in  consecration  to  the  good,  the  beautiful  and  the 
heavenly. 

Spiritualism  proffers  the  key  that  unlocks  the  mysteries  of 
the  ages.  It  constituted  the  foundation  stone  of  all  the  ancient 
faiths.  It  was  the  soul  of  all  past  religions.  It  was  the  mighty 
uplifting  force  that  gave  to  the  world  in  all  ages  its  inspired 
teachers  and  immortal  leaders. 

Rightly  translated,  the  direct  words  of  Jesus  are,  "  God  is 
Spirit."  The  spiritual  is  the  real  and  the  substantial.  The  spirit- 
ually minded  are  reverential.  They  are  religious.  Their  life 
is  a  prayer.  "  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  said  the  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles,  "  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-sufifering,  gentleness,  good- 
ness, faith,  meekness,  temperance."  Spiritualism,  by  whatever 
name  known,  without  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  without  religion  and 
moral  growth,  is  but  the  veriest  rot  and  rubbish;  and  religion, 
by  whatever  name  known,  in  any  age,  without  spiritualism  and 
its  accompanying  spiritual  gifts,  is  only  an  empty  shell — an 
offensive  creedal  cadaver  that  should  be  buried  without  ecclesi- 
astical formalities. 

God  is  Spirit.  And  Spiritualism,  while  inhering  in  and  orig- 
inating from  God,  does  not  centre  alone  in,  and  rest  entirely 
upon  phenomena,  but  upon  spirit — upon  the  spiritual  and  moral 
constitution  of  man,  which  constitution  requires  such  spiritual 
8 


114  Book  of  Knowledge. 

sustenance  as  inspiration,  prayer,  vision,  trance,  clairvoyance 
and  heavenly  impression  from  the  divine  sphere  of  love  and 
wisdom.  Spiritualists,  like  the  primitive  Christians,  believe  in 
God  the  Father  and  in  the  brotherhood  of  the  races.  They 
acknowledge  Christ;  they  cultivate  the  religious  emotions;  they 
open  their  seances,  many  of  them,  with  prayer.  They  are 
richly  blessed  with  visions  and  calm,  uplifting  ministrations  from 
angelic  homes.  They  see  in  every  pure  crystal  streani  a  Jor- 
dan, in  every  verdure-clad  mountain  a  present  Olivet,  and  in 
every  well-cultivated  prairie  a  Canaan  flowing  with  the  milk 
and  honey  of  spiritual  truth — love  to  God  and  love  to  man. 

Spiritualism  teaches  salvation  by  character;  or  by  the  life, 
as  did  Paul  in  his  higher  inspired  moments,  who  said,  Being 
reconciled,  we  shall  he  saved  by  his  life.    Romans  V,  lo. 

God  is  Spirit.  And  neither  matter  nor  sea-slime  nor  proto- 
plasm constitutes  the  basis  of  Hfe,  but  spirit ;  that  is  to  say,  spirit- 
ual or  divine  substance.  Spirituality  is  the  substantial  reality. 
And  man  is  a  spirit  now,  a  spirit  living  in  a  material  body,  which 
body  bears  something  of  the  same  relation  to  the  real,  con- 
scious, invisible  man  that  the  husk  bears  to  the  corn.  Evi- 
dently man  is  a  trinity  in  unity,  constituted  of  a  physical  body, 
a  soul,  or  soul  body,  and  a  conscious,  undying  spirit — one  un- 
compounded,  indestructive,  divine  substance — the  divine  Ego. 
Advanced  spirits  are  denominated  angels.  Spirits  are  but  men 
and  women  divested  of  their  mortal  bodies.  They  have  taken 
with  them  consciousness,  memory,  reason,  sympathy,  char- 
acter. They  walk  by  our  sides  often,  and  yet  unseen.  Philo- 
sophically considered,  there  is  but  one  world,  and  that  one  world 
embraces  the  yesterdays,  and  to-days,  and  the  innumerable  to- 
morrows of  eternity. 

Spiritualism,  with  its  signs,  wonders,  visions  and  healing 
gifts,  was  the  religion  of  the  apostles;  of  the  post  apostolic 
fathers,  and  of  the  primitive  Christians  up  to  the  reign  of  Con- 
stantine,  the  murderous  Roman  emperor. 

Spiritualism  has  not  only  positively  demonstrated  a  future 
life,  but  it  has  explained  the  philosophy  and  psychic  methods  of 
spirit  intercourse ;  it  has  greatly  liberalized  the  religious  mind ; 
it  has  encouraged  the  philanthropic  reforms  of  the  age,  and  it 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  115 

has  given  us  a  revised  geography  of  the  heavens  and  the  hells. 
Mortals  enter  the  future  world  with  as  absolute  substantial 
bodies  as  we  have  here,  only  more  refined  and  etherealized. 
There  are  different  degrees  of  happiness  there.  Memory  is  the 
undying  worm.  There  is  intense  mental  suffering  in  those 
Cimmerian  spheres.  And  yet,  God  builds  no  hells.  He  burns 
no  man's  fingers  here,  damns  no  souls  there.  Men  are  the 
architects  of  their  own  hells ;  they  reap  what  they  sow.  Every 
child  born  into  this  world  is  a  possible  archangel  or  a  possible 
demon ;  his  head  touches  the  world  of  light,  his  feet  the  world 
of  darkness.  Man  is  a  rational  moral  being,  having  the  power 
of  choice.  Punishment  follows  sin ;  there  is  no  escape.  Divine 
punishment  is  disciplinary  in  all  worlds.  Christ  Jesus  still 
preaches  to  undeveloped  imprisoned  spirits.  The  angels  call, 
and  souls  are  constantly  coming  up  through  tribulation  deep. 
The  door  of  mercy  is  not  shut ;  there  is  ever  the  opportunity  of 
progress  from  darkness  to  light.     God  is  love. 

Modern  Spiritualism — of  which  Swedenborg  was  the  John 
the  Baptist  and  that  Christian  people,  the  Shakers,  the  first 
organized  body  of  men  and  women  in  America  to  fully  realize 
the  true  meaning  of  the  phenomena — has  disclosed  some  of  the 
unspeakable  beauties  awaiting  us  in  the  many  mansioned  house 
of  the  Father.  These  mansions — aural  spheres,  enzoning  stars 
and  planets — are  real,  substantial,  and  adaptively  fitted  for  the 
abodes  of  spirits,  angels  and  archangels.  These,  aflame  with 
love,  are  ever  active  in  some  educational  or  redemptive  work. 
Heaven's  rest  is  not  idleness ;  the  soul's  activities  are  intensified 
by  the  transition.  The  future  life  is  a  social  life,  a  progressive 
life,  a  heavenly  life  of  growth,  of  love  and  of  truth. 


WHO  ARE  THESE  SPIRITUALISTS? 

In  the  above  statement  or  definition  of  Spiritualism,  I  speak 
for  myself  only,  not  others.  Spiritualists  have  no  Pope,  no  cast- 
iron  creed,  and  they  desire  to  build  up  no  new  sect. 

When  Jesus  of  Nazareth  preached  his  radical  doctrines  of 
the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  the  pres- 


ii6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ent  ministry  of  angels  and  spirits,  the  cautious,  conservative 
scribes  and  the  synagogue  Jews  inquired,  "  Have  any  of  the 
rulers  of  the  Pharisees  believed  on  him?  "  That  is  to  say,  have 
any  of  the  Rabbis,  any  of  the  reputed  great  and  v^ise  believed 
on  him?  If  so,  we,  the  driftwood,  will  fall  in  line.  Human 
nature  is  the  same  in  all  ages,  and  moral  cowards  are  ever  cring- 
ing cowards.  Thougli  Spiritualists  number  millions  upon  mil- 
lions in  all  enlightened  countries — and  though  there  are  more 
or  less  Spiritualists  in  every  church  in  the  land  (unless  it  be 
that  little  seven  by  nine  issue,  the  Seventh-day  Second  Advent- 
ists)  there  are  those  who  ask,  half  sneeringly,  "  Who  are  these 
Spirituahsts ?  "  My  brief  reply  is:  they  constitute  the  brains 
of  the  world.  I  repeat,  the  brainiest  people  of  the  world  to-day 
are  straight  out-and-out  Spiritualists,  or  favorably  inclined  to 
Spiritualism.  They  are  the  cultured.  They  are  the  inspired. 
They  stand  upon  the  Mount.  They  walk  in  the  sunlight  of 
eternal  truth.  Take  among  the  giant-minded  thousands  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Alfred  R.  Wallace,  F.G.S.,  author,  scientist  and  naturalist, 
who  for  his  great  scientific  achievements  the  Queen  has  pen- 
sioned, pointedly  said :  "  My  position,  therefore,  is  that  the 
phenomena  of  SpirituaHsm  in  their  entirety  do  not  require 
further  confirmation.  They  are  proved  quite  as  well  as  any 
facts  are  proved  in  other  sciences. 

"Up  to  the  time  when  I  first  became  acquainted  with  the  facts 
of  Spiritualism  I  was  a  confirmed  philosophical  skeptic,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  works  of  Voltaire,  Strauss  and  Carl  Vogt ;  an  ardent 
admirer — as  I  am  still — of  Herbert  Spencer.  I  was  so  thor- 
ough and  confirmed  a  Materialist  that  I  could  not  at  that  time 
find  a  place  in  my  mind  for  the  conception  of  spiritual  existence 
or  for  any  other  agency  in  the  universe  than  matter  and  force. 
Facts,  however,  are  stubborn  things.  The  facts  beat  me.  They 
compelled  me  to  accept  them  as  facts  long  before  I  could  accept 
the  spiritual  explanation  of  them.  Those  who  believe  as  I  do — 
that  spiritual  beings  can  and  do  (subject  to  general  law  and 
for  certain  purposes)  communicate  with  us — must  see  in  the 
steady  advance  of  inquiry  the  assurance  that  as  far  as  their 
beHefs  are  logical  deductions  from  the  phenomena  they  have 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  117 

witnessed,  those  beliefs  will  at  no  distant  date  be  accepted  by 
all  truth-seeking  inquirers." 

William  Crookes,  F.R.S.,  editor  of  the  London  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Science,  and  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  says: 
"  That  certain  physical  phenomena,  such  as  the  movement  of 
material  substances  and  the  production  of  sounds  resembling 
electric  discharges,  occur  under  circumstances  in  which  they 
cannot  be  explained  by  any  physical  law  at  present  known,  is  a 
fact  of  which  I  am  as  certain  as  I  am  of  the  most  elementary 
facts  in  chemistry." 

In  his  book,  "Researches  in  the  Phenomena  of  Spiritualism," 
he  states  his  convictions  of  the  fact  of  an  intercommunion  be- 
tween the  dwellers  of  the  visible  and  the  invisible  worlds. 

If  it  had  not  been  for  Prof.  William  Crookes,  the  discoveries 
of  Professor  Roentgen  would  not  have  been  made.  This  man 
who  paved  the  way  for  the  recent  developments  in  photographic 
science  has  been  widely  known  for  years,  and  there  are  few 
men  who  have  achieved  more  brilliant  results  in  the  laboratory 
than  the  discoverer  of  the  "  tube  "  which  is  just  now  figuring 
so  prominently  in  all  the  experimental  work  with  the  new  liglit 
which  makes  the  photography  of  concealed  things  possible. 

Professor  Crookes  was  born  in  London  sixty-four  years 
ago,  and  in  his  boyhood  became  interested  in  photography.  He 
took  a  course  in  the  Royal  College  of  Chemistry  under  Dr. 
Hoffman,  and  soon  became  assistant  to  the  tutor.  At  twenty- 
two  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Radcliffe  Observa- 
tory at  Oxford.  In  1859  he  founded  the  Chemical  Nezvs,  and  in 
1864  became  the  editor  of  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,  and 
contributed  many  valuable  papers  to  the  publication. 

Professor  Crookes  was  indefatigable  in  original  research.  He 
discovered  the  force  and  invented  the  radiometer.  In  recog- 
nition of  his  discovery  of  the  new  metal,  thallium,  he  was  made 
a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  In  1877  he  invented  the  otheo- 
scope,  and  in  the  same  year,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal 
Society,  he  said  that  he  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  vacuum  so 
nearly  perfect  that  the  pressure  in  it  was  only  .0000004  of  an  at- 
mosphere. It  was  this  discovery  that  made  possible  the  in- 
candescent electric  light.  He  has  written  many  scientific  books, 


Ii8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

each  of  which  is  considered  of  great  value.  His  name  was 
brought  before  the  pubHc  generally  in  1870,  when  he  under- 
took an  investigation  of  the  physical  phenomena  of  Spiritualism. 
His  book  on  the  results  of  those  experiments  was  widely  read 
at  the  time  of  its  publication,  but  while  the  scientific  world 
placed  the  highest  value  on  his  experiments  in  other  lines  it 
paid  no  attention  to  his  investigations  on  the  occult  side  of 
nature.  They  were  too  bigoted.  Too  many  of  these  professed 
scientists  do  little  besides  strut  around  with  cigar  stubs  in  their 
mouths,  pork  in  their  paunches,  and  old,  warty  barnacles  upon 
their  backs.  Professor  Crookes  is  certainly  the  most  patient 
experimenter  of  modern  times,  and  his  name  can  never  be  dis- 
associated with  Spiritualism  and  the  Roentgen  ray  because  his 
discovery  was  its  basis. 

C.  F.  Varley,  the  distinguished  English  electrician,  chief 
engineer  to  the  Electric  and  Internation  Telegraph  Company, 
assistant  in  the  construction  of  the  Atlantic  telegraphy  in  con- 
nection with  Sir  Michael  Farady  and  Sir  William  Thompson, 
the  first  to  demonstrate  the  principles  governing  the  transmis- 
sion of  electricity  through  long,  deep-sea  cables.  Writing  in 
1880,  he  said : 

"Twenty-five  years  ago  I  was  a  hard-headed  unbeliever. 
Spirit  phenomena,  however,  suddenly  and  quite  unexpectedly, 
were  soon  after  developed  in  my  own  family.  This  led  me  to 
inquire  and  to  try  numerous  experiments  in  such  a  way  as  to 
preclude,  as  much  as  circumstances  would  permit,  the  possibility 
of  trickery  and  self-deception. 

"  That  the  phenomena  occur  there  is  overwhelming  evi- 
dence, and  it  is  too  late  now  to  deny  their  existence.  Having 
experimented  with  and  compared  the  forces  with  electricity  and 
magnetism,  and  after  having  applied  mechanical  and  mental 
tests,  I  entertain  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  manifestations 
which  I  have  myself  examined  were  not  due  to  the  operation  ot 
any  of  the  recognized  physical  laws  of  nature,  and  that  there 
has  been  present  on  the  occasions  above  mentioned  some  intel- 
ligence other  than  that  of  the  medium  and  observers." 

M.  Leon  Favre,  Consul  General  of  France,  and  brother  of 
Jules  Favre,  the  eminent  French  Senator,  says: 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  119 

"  I  have  long,  carefully  and  conscientiously  studied  Spiritual 
phenomena.  Not  only  am  I  convinced  of  their  irrefragable 
reality,  but  I  have  also  a  profound  assurance  that  they  are  pro- 
duced by  the  spirits  of  those  who  have  left  earth ;  and  further 
that  they  only  could  produce  them.  I  believe  in  the  existence  of 
an  invisible  world  corresponding  to  the  world  around  us.  I 
believe  that  the  denizens  of  that  world  were  formerly  resident 
on  this  earth,  and  I  believe  in  the  possibility  of  intercommunion 
between  the  two  worlds." 

On  my  way  to  Constantinople  a  few  years  since  to  fill  a 
Consular  position  under  General  Grant,  I  was  his  guest  for  a 
week  in  Paris,  witnessing  the  manifestations  in  his  own  parlors. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  kindness  of  the  Consul's  son  who  accom- 
panied me  as  a  guide  to  Versailles  and  other  cities  in  France, 
sight-seeing. 

J.  Herman  Fichte,  the  distinguished  philosopher  and  meta- 
physician, writing  of  Baron  Guldenstubbe,  of  Stuttgart,  said: 
"  As  to  my  present  position  in  regard  to  Spiritualism,  I  have 
to  say  that  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  absolutely 
impossible  to  account  for  these  phenomena  save  by  assuming 
the  action  of  superhuman  influences  or  unseen  spirit  intelli- 
gences." 

Professor  de  Morgan,  at  one  time  London's  greatest  mathe- 
matician, says :  "  I  have  both  seen  and  heard,  in  a  manner  which 
would  have  made  unbelief  impossible,  things  called  spiritual 
which  cannot  be  taken  by  a  rational  being  to  be  capable  of  ex- 
planation by  imposture,  coincident  or  mistake.  The  physical 
explanations  which  I  have  seen  are  miserably  insufficient." 

Professor  Challis,  the  late  Plumerian  Professor  of  Astronomy 
at  Cambridge,  stated  his  opinion  in  a  letter  to  the  Clerical 
Journal  of  June,  1862,  as  follows : 

"  I  have  been  unable  to  resist  the  large  amount  of  testimony 
to  such  facts  which  has  come  from  many  independent  sources 
and  from  a  vast  number  of  witnesses.  In  short,  the  testimony 
has  been  so  abundant  and  consentaneous  that  either  the  facts 
must  be  admitted  to  be  such  as  reported  or  the  possibility  of 
certifying  facts  by  human  testimony  must  be  given  up." 

Dr.  Robert  Chambers,  of  Edinburgh,  said :  "  The  names  we 


I20  Book  of  Knowledge. 

are  able  to  quote  of  men  who  have  publicly  acknowledged  their 
conviction  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomena  of  modern  Spiritual- 
ism form  only  a  small  portion  of  those  who  are  really  convinced, 
every  SpirituaHst  knows."  In  a  letter  of  Dr.  Chambers  ad- 
dressed to  Alfred  R.  Wallace,  February,  1867,  he  says :  "  I  have 
for  many  years  known  that  these  phenomena  are  real,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  impostures,  and  it  is  not  of  yesterday  that  I 
concluded  they  were  calculated  to  explain  much  that  has  been 
doubted  in  the  past;  and,  when  fully  accepted,  they  will  revo- 
lutionize the  whole  frame  of  human  opinion  on  many  important 
matters." 

M.  Thiers,  ex-President  of  the  French  Republic,  exclaimed : 
"I  am  a  Spiritualist,  and  an  impassioned  one,  and  I  am  anxious 
to  confound  Materialism  in  the  name  of  science  and  good 
sense." 

Camille  Flammarion,  well  known  in  scientific  circles  as  an 
astronomer  and  member  of  the  Academic  Francaise,  thus  testi- 
fies to  the  truth  of  Spiritualism: 

"  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  my  conviction,  based  on  per- 
sonal examination  of  the  subject,  that  any  scientific  man  who 
declares  the  phenomena  denominated  "  magnetic,"  "  sonam- 
bulic,"  "  mediumic,"  and  others  not  yet  explained  by  science  to 
be  "  impossible  "  is  one  who  speaks  without  knowing  what  he 
is  talking  about;  and  also  any  man  accustomed  by  his  profes- 
sional avocations  to  scientific  observation — provided  that  his 
mind  be  not  biased  by  pre-conceived  opinions — may  acquire  a 
radical  and  absolute  certainty  of  the  reality  of  the  facts  alluded 
to." 

Dr.  Lockhart  Robertson,  long  one  of  the  editors  of  the 
Journal  of  Mental  Science,  a  physician  who,  having  made  mental 
disease  his  special  study,  would  not  be  easily  taken  in  by  any 
psychological  delusions.  His  testimony  to  the  reahty  of  the 
spiritual  phenomena  is  most  distinct  and  positive. 

Serjeant  Cox,  an  Assistant  Judge  of  the  Middlesex  Sessions, 
President  of  the  Psychological  Society  of  Great  Britain,  getting 
satisfactory  proofs  of  independent  writing  through  a  dis- 
tinguished medium,  wrote  of  it  thus,  August  8,  1876: 

''  I  can  only  say  that  I  am  in  full  possession  of  my  senses ; 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?  121 

that  I  am  wide  awake;  that  I  was  in  broad  daylight;  that  the 
medium  was  under  my  observation  the  whole  time,  and  could 
not  have  moved  hand  or  foot  without  being  detected  by  me. 
That  these  spiritual  phenomena  occur  it  is  vain  to  dispute." 

Swedenborg  conversed  with  the  spirits  of  the  so-called  dead 
for  twenty-seven  years,  and  some  of  his  tests  were  perfectly 
astonishing,  such  as  the  following:  In  1758  a  revolution  was 
attempted  in  Sweden.  On  the  23d  of  July  in  that  year  Swe- 
denborg was  in  Stockholm.  On  that  day  Count  Brahe  and 
Baron  Horn  were  executed  in  the  capital.  Swedenborg  did  not 
lose  sight  of  Brahe  when  he  was  beyond  the  axe,  as  the  follow- 
ing passage  in  Scriptural  Diary  shows: 

"  Brahe  was  beheaded  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  he 
spoke  with  me  at  ten  at  night ;  that  is  to  say,  twelve  hours  after 
the  execution.  He  was  with  me  almost  without  interruption  for 
several  days.  In  two  days'  time  he  began  to  return  to  his 
former  life,  which  consisted  in  loving  worldly  things ;  and  after 
three  days  he  became  as  he  was  before  in  the  world,  and  was 
carried  into  the  evils  he  had  made  his  own  before  he  died." 

Professor  Sherer  relates  this :  Conversing  with  a  companion 
one  evening  in  Stockholm  about  the  spiritual  work,  one  of  those 
present,  as  a  test,  said,  "  Tell  us  who  will  die  first."  Swedenborg 
at  first  refused  to  answer.  Then,  after  seeming  to  be  for  a 
time  in  silent  and  profound  meditation,  he  replied :  "  Olof  Olof- 
sohn  will  die  to-morrow  morning  at  forty-five  minutes  past  four 
o'clock."  This  prediction  greatly  excited  the  company,  and  one 
gentleman,  a  friend  of  Olof  Olofsohn,  resolved  to  go  on  the 
following  morning  at  the  time  mentioned  by  Swedenborg,  to 
the  house  of  Olofsohn,  in  order  to  see  whether  Swedenborg's 
prediction  was  fulfilled.  On  the  way  thither  he  met  the  well- 
known  servant  of  Olofsohn,  who  told  him  that  his  master  had 
just  died — a  fit  of  apoplexy  had  seized  him  and  had  suddenly 
put  an  end  to  his  life.  The  clock  in  Olofsohn's  dwelling  apart- 
ment stopped  at  the  very  moment  in  which  he  had  expired,  and 
the  hand  pointed  at  the  time. 

John  Wesley,  the  founder  of  Methodism,  was  a  firm  be- 
liever in  spiritual  phenomena.  Prof.  A.  B.  Hyde,  D.D.,  author 
and  professor  of  Greek  in  the  Denver  University,  says  in  his 


122  Book  of  Knowledge. 

work  on  Methodism :  "  During  these  years  strange  noises  were 
heard  at  the  Epworth  parsonage.  They  were  first  heard  in  the 
whistling  of  the  wind  outside.  Latches  were  Hfted;  windows 
rattled  and  all  metallic  substances  rang  tunefully.  In  a  room 
where  persons  talked,  sang  or  made  any  noise,  its  hollow  tones 
gave  all  the  louder  accompaniment.  There  was  a  sound  of 
doors  slamming,  of  curtains  drawing,  of  shoes  dancing  without 
a  wearer.  When  any.  one  wished  to  pass  a  door  its  latch  was 
politely  lifted  for  them  before  they  touched  it.  A  trencher,  un- 
touched upon  the  table,  danced  to  unheard  music.  At  family 
prayers  the  '  goblin '  gave  thundering  knocks  at  the  Amen, 
and  when  Mr.  Wesley  prayed  for  the  king  the  disloyal  being 
pushed  him  violently  in  anger.  The  stout  rector  shamed  it  for 
annoying  children  and  dared  it  to  meet  him  alone  in  his  study 
and  pick  up  the  gauntlet  there.  Many  then  and  since  have 
tried  to  explain  the  cause.  It  was  thought  to  be  a  spirit  strayed 
beyond  its  home  and  clime,  as  an  Arabian  locust  has  been  found 
in  Hyde  Park.  Of  such  things  this  writer  has  no  theory.  There 
are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  his  knowledge  can 
compass.  Only  he  is  sure  that  outside  of  this  world  lies  a 
spiritual  domain,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  there  should  be  inter- 
communication.'* 

Robert  Southey,  in  his  life  of  Wesley,  when  speaking  of 
these  spiritual  manifestations,  states  that  they  continued  in  the 
Wesley  family  for  over  thirty  years,  commencing  in  1716.  Dr. 
Priestly,  the  discoverer  of  oxygen,  speaks  of  the  Wesleyan 
phenomena  as  among  the  most  remarkable  in  history.  There 
is  a  record  of  them  in  the  "  Bibliotheca  Topographica  Britan- 
nica,"  by  Samuel  Babcock.     Here  is  the  closing  paragraph: 

"  I  know  not  what  became  of  the  ghost  of  Epworth,  unless 
considered  the  prelude  to  the  noise  Mr.  John  Wesley  made  on  a 
more  ample  stage,  it  ceased  to  speak  when  he  began  to  act." 

Wesley  himself,  in  referring  to  his  experience  and  convic- 
tion of  the  truth  of  spirit  manifestations,  said :  "  What  pretence 
have  I  to  deny  well-attested  facts  because  I  cannot  comprehend 
them  ?  It  is  true  that  most  of  the  men  of  learning  in  Europe 
have  given  up  all  accounts  of  apparitions  as  mere  old  wives* 
fables.     I  am  sorry  for  it,  and  I  willingly  take  this  opportunity 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  123 

of  entering  my  solemn  protest  against  this  violent  compliment 
which  so  many  that  believe  in  the  Bible  pay  to  those  who  do  not 
believe  it.  I  owe  them  no  such  service.  They  well  know 
(whether  Christians  know  it  or  not)  that  the  giving  up  of  these 
apparitions  is  in  effect  giving  up  the  Bible ;  and  they  know,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  if  but  one  account  of  the  intercourse  of 
men  with  spirits  is  admitted,  their  whole  castle  in  the  air  (Deism, 
Atheism  and  Materialism)  falls  to  the  ground. 

"  One  of  the  capital  objections  to  all  these  accounts  which 
I  have  known  urged  over  and  over  is :  '  Did  you  ever  see  an 
apparition  yourself?'  No,  nor  did  I  ever  see  a  murder,  yet  I 
believe  there  is  such  a  thing.  Yet  the  testimony  of  exceptional 
witnesses  fully  convinces  me  of  both  the  one  and  the  other. 
With  my  last  breath  will  I  bear  testimony  against  giving  up  to 
infidels  one  of  the  greatest  proofs  of  the  invisible  world — I  mean 
that  of  apparitions  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  all  ages." 

Dr.  H.  W.  Thomas,  probably  the  ablest  preacher  in  Chicago, 
said  in  a  sermon :  "  The  perfect  vision  should  see  in  Spiritualism 
the  essential  truth  of  the  continuity  of  Hfe  and  possibility  of 
communion  between  the  two  worlds.  The  phenomena  mani- 
festations or  forms  of  slate  writing,  seances,  and  materializa- 
tions are  but  incidents — but  the  accidents  attending  any  form 
of  faith  should  not  be  permitted  to  close  the  vision  to  the  under- 
lying realities.  The  fact  of  a  conscious  intercommunion  be- 
tween the  two  worlds  has  become  an  established  truth." 

Dr.  Robert  Hare,  scientist,  chemist  and  Spiritualist,  invented 
the  oxy-hydrogen  blowpipe,  producing  a  flame  so  intense  that 
it  would  consume  a  diamond  and  vaporize  the  most  solid  sub- 
stance. The  doctor  was  a  professor  in  the  Pennsylvania  Uni- 
versity, and  he  stood  so  high  among  European  philosophers 
that  Philadelphia  was  chiefly  known  to  them  as  the  residence 
of  the  learned  Professor  Hare.  When  Spiritualism  came  to  his 
notice,  being  a  rank  skeptic,  if  not  a  downright  atheist,  he  set 
about  constructing  instruments  to  detect  and  expose  the  frauds 
of  mediumship — when  lo,  the  spirits  made  use  of  his  own  in- 
strument to  convince  him  of  the  fact  of  spirit  existence  and  of 
their  power  to  communicate  with  mortals.  Becoming  a  Spirit- 
ualist he  became  a  believer  in  God  and  immortahty.   When  Dr. 


124  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Hare  attended  the  American  Association  of  Science  in  1856, 
asking  for  an  hour  to  present  the  scientific  methods  and  results 
of  his  investigations  in  relation  to  Spiritualism  before  the  body 
convened,  the  majority  decided  against  him.  Among  the 
minority  were  such  savants  as  Professor  Mitchell,  Agassiz  and 
others.  This  great  chemist,  scientist,  philosopher  and  elec- 
trician, the  peer  of  Farady — the  crowning  glory  of  the  old  Penn- 
sylvania University — lived  and  died  a  devoted  Spiritualist.  His 
life,  his  scientific  researches  and  philosophical  attainments,  con- 
stituting an  imperishable  monument,  honors  science  as  well  as 
graces  and  adds  lustre  to  the  early  history  of  Spiritualism  in 
America. 

Victor  Hugo,  that  eminent  literary  celebrity,  with  intellect 
so  clear  and  radiant,  and  moral  nature  so  highly  developed, 
could  not  well  avoid  being  a  Spiritualist.  Upon  my  second 
voyage  around  the  world  I  met  him  in  Paris  in  a  seance  of  the 
literati,  Mrs.  Hollis-Billings  being  the  medium.  Hugo  wept 
in  gratitude  when  his  risen  son  gave  him  a  most  satisfactory 
communication  in  written  French,  when  she,  an  American,  could 
neither  speak  nor  write  a  line  of  French. 

In  his  "Toilers  of  the  Sea,"  he  writes  :  "There  are  times  when 
the  unknown  reveals  itself  to  the  spirit  of  man  in  visions.  Such 
visions  have  occasionally  the  power  to  effect  a  transfiguration, 
converting  a  poor  camel-driver  into  a  Mahomet ;  a  peasant  girl 
tending  her  goats  into  a  Joan  of  Arc.  Those  that  depart  still 
remain  near  us — they  are  in  a  world  of  light;  but  they  as  tender 
witnesses  hover  about  our  world  of  darkness.  Though  invisible 
to  some  they  are  not  absent.     Holy  is  their  converse  with  us." 

Theodore  Parker  wrote :  "This  party  (Spiritualists)  has  an 
idea  wider  and  deeper  than  Catholic  or  Protestant ;  namely,  that 
God  still  inspires  men  as  much  as  ever.  Now,  in  1856,  it  seems 
more  likely  that  Spiritualism  will  become  the  religion  of  Amer- 
ica than  in  156  that  Christianity  would  become  the  religion  of 
the  Roman  Empire.  It  has  more  evidence  for  its  wonders  than 
any  historic  form  of  religion  hitherto.  It  is  thoroughly  demo- 
cratic, with  no  hierarchy;  but  inspiration  is  open  to  all.  It 
admits  all  the  truths  of  religion  and  morality  in  all  the  world's 
sects.    Shall  we  know  our  friends  again?    For  my  own  part,  I 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  125 

cannot  doubt  it ;  least  of  all  when  I  drop  a  tear  over  their  recent 
dust.  Death  does  not  separate  them  from  us  here.  Can  Hfe  in 
heaven  do  it  ?  " 

Judge  J.  W.  Edmonds,  the  pride  of  the  New  York  Bench  for 
years,  a  jurist  of  unimpeachable  integrity  and  keen  discern- 
ment, as  well  as  an  authority  in  International  Law,  was  not  only 
a  Spiritualist  but  a  medium  with  fine  clairvoyant  gifts.  Sitting 
in  his  seances  by  the  hour  I  have  listened  to  his  visions,  as 
exalted  as  those  of  Peter  or  Paul,  or  the  ecstatics  of  the  pre- 
Constantine  period. 

William  Lloyd  Garrison,  the  author,  speaker  and  pioneer 
"  liberator,"  writing  of  Spiritualism  said :  "  The  manifestations 
have  spread  from  house  to  house,  from  city  to  city,  from  one 
part  of  the  country  to  another,  across  the  Atlantic  into  Europe, 
till  now  the  enlightened  world  is  compelled  to  acknowledge  their 
reality.  We  have  witnessed  these  surprising  manifestations; 
and  our  conviction  is  that  they  cannot  be  accounted  for  on  any 
other  theory  than  that  of  spiritual  agency." 

William  Howitt,  the  noted  English  writer  and  author  of 
seventy  volumes,  was  a  writing  and  drawing  medium.  It  gave 
me  great  pleasure  to  sit  in  one  of  his  seances  and  witness  his 
automatic  drawings.  In  the  English  Dunfermeline  Press,  Mr. 
Howitt  wrote  thus :  "  Who  are  the  men  who  have  in  every 
country  embraced  SpirituaHsm?  The  rabble?  the  ignorant? 
the  fanatic?  By  no  means.  But  the  most  intelligent  and 
learned  of  all  classes."  In  America  the  shrewd  and  honest 
statesman  and  President  was  a  Spiritualist.  So  were  the  Hon. 
Robert  Dale  Owen  and  Judge  Edmonds.  Longfellow,  now  in 
England,  and  just  treated  with  the  highest  honor  by  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  and  about  to  be  feted  by  the  whole  liter- 
ary world  of  England,  is  and  has  long  been  a  Spiritualist." 

When  Longfellow  was  upon  his  late  European  tour  he  at- 
tended Spiritual  seances  at  the  house  of  the  Guppy's  in  Naples, 
and  at  the  palatial  residence  of  the  Baron  Kirkup  in  Florence. 
I  had  this  upon  the  authority  of  several  eminent  gentlemen  in 
Italy. 

Abraham  Lincoln,  the  martyred  President,  was  a  Spiritualist. 
He  frequently  attended  seances  at  the  residence  of  the  Lauries 


126  Book  of  Knowledge, 

in  Washington.  The  daughter  was  a  medium.  Lincoln's  eman- 
cipation message  was  an  inspiration  from  the  spirit-world. 
Judge  Edmonds,  dehvering  an  oration  in  Hope  Chapel,  N.  Y., 
upon  the  life  of  Lincoln,  gave  the  proof  of  this.  It  is  undeni- 
able. 

In  Judge  Pierpont's  address  to  the  jury  at  the  Surratt  trial, 
he  said :  "  I  now  come  to  a  strange  act  in  this  dark  drama — 
strange  though  not  new — so  wonderful  that  it  seems  to  come 
from  beyond  the  veil  that  separates  us  from  death.  On  the 
morning  of  April  14th,  Mr.  Lincoln  called  his  cabinet  together. 
He  had  reason  to  be  joyful,  but  he  was  anxious  to  hear  from 
Sherman.  Grant  was  here,  and  he  said  Sherman  was  all  right; 
but  President  Lincoln  said  he  feared,  and  related  a  dream — a 
dream  which  he  had  previous  to  Chancellorsville  and  Stone 
River,  and  whenever  a  disaster  happened.  The  members  of 
the  cabinet  who  heard  that  dream  will  never  forget  it.  A  few 
hours  afterwards  Sherman  was  not  heard  from — but  the  dream 
was  fulfilled.  A  disaster  had  befallen  the  Government,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln's  spirit,  by  Booth's  assassin  hand,  had  returned  to  God 
who  gave  it." 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  the  distinguished  Methodist  commentator, 
was  a  Spiritualist.  In  commenting  upon  Saul  and  Samuel  (see 
his  commentaries,  pp.  298-299),  he  says: 

"  I  believe  Samuel  did  actually  appeal  to  Saul ;  and  that  he 
was  sent  to  warn  this  infatuated  king  of  his  approaching  death, 
that  he  might  have  an  opportunity  to  make  his  peace  with  his 
Maker. 

"  I  believe  there  is  a  supernatural  and  spiritual  world,  in 
which  human  spirits,  both  good  and  bad,  live  in  a  state  of  con- 
sciousness. 

"  I  believe  that  any  of  these  spirits  may,  according  to  the 
order  of  God,  in  the  laws  of  their  place  of  residence,  have  inter- 
course with  this  world  and  become  visible  to  mortals." 

Bishop  John  P.  Newman,  General  Grant's  pastor  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  is  a  Spiritualist.  From  a  printed  sermon  of  his, 
delivered  at  the  funeral  of  an  aged  lady  at  No.  561  Madison 
Avenue,  New  York,  I  made  the  following  extracts : 

"  This  venerable  woman  has  gone,  not  to  sing  songs  nor  to 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?  127 

be  idle,  nor  indifferent  as  to  the  scenes  of  earth  and  time.  These 
sons  and  grandchildren  over  whom  she  watched  with  the  tender- 
est  love  here,  she  will  continue  to  love  and  guide  hereafter.  The 
belief  is  all  but  universal  that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  have 
returned  to  earth.  The  best  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  were 
strong  in  this  opinion,  and  those  eminent  in  the  church  for 
learning  and  piety  have  cherished  this  common  faith. 

"  Two  worlds  met  in  Bible  times.  The  communications  were 
as  real  then  between  earth  and  heaven  as  between  New  York 
and  London  to-day.  From  Adam  till  John  of  Patmos  there 
were  frequent  intercourse  between  those  who  had  gone  and 
those  who  were  left  behind. 

"  Angels  dined  with  Abraham,  were  companions  of  Daniel  in 
the  lion's  den ;  they  conversed  with  Mary ;  they  delivered  Peter 
from  prison;  they  visited  Cornelius,  the  Roman  centurion. 
Celestial  visions  were  given  to  Isaiah  and  the  prophets,  to  Paul 
and  the  apostles,  to  Stephen  and  the  martyrs,  while  Samuel 
and  Moses  and  Elias  were  returned  to  earth.  And  why  should 
we  suppose  that  there  is  less  interest  in  heaven  for  earth  than  in 
the  glorious  past?  We  have  the  inspired  record  of  the  return 
of  five  persons  to  our  earth,  three  of  whom  entered  the  spirit 
world  through  the  portals  of  the  grave. 

"  And  there  was  another  who  was  born  here  and  went  to  that 
spirit-land  and  returned  to  us  and  remained  with  us  from  June 
44,  A.  D.,  till  June,  64,  A.  D.,  a  period  of  twenty  years ;  and  six 
years  after  he  made  this  declaration  public.  He  said,  '  I  was 
caught  up  into  the  third  heaven.'  This  is  levitation  as  taught 
in  I.  Kings,  xviii  :  12;  Ezekial  iii. :  14;  in  Acts  viii.;  39-40.  He 
went  not  only  to  the  place  of  departed  spirits,  but  to  heaven, 
where  he  heard  unspeakable  words.  Do  you  say  if  only  one  of 
our  race  and  time  would  go  and  return  and  witness  to  us  it 
would  be  sufficient?  Most  lawyers  are  satisfied  with  one  good 
witness.  The  law  is  that  two  witnesses  are  sufficient  to  confirm 
a  fact;  but  here  are  eight — Samuel,  Moses,  Elias,  Christ  and 
four  apostles.  These  eight  witnesses  are  as  good  as  eight 
hundred. 

"  But  do  the  communications  between  the  two  worlds  con- 
tinue to  this  day?     Let  us  not  be  deterred  in  answering  this 


128  Book  of  Knowledge. 

question,  because  a  great  Bible  fact  has  been  perverted  for 
lust  and  lucre.  Let  us  rise  to  the  sublimity  and  purity  of  the 
great  Bible  truth,  and  on  this  day  of  sorrow  console  our  hearts 
therewith.  It  was  the  opinion  of  Wesley  that  Swedenborg  was 
visited  by  the  spirits  of  his  departed  friends.  Dr.  Adam  Clarke 
believed  that  the  departed  spirits  returned  to  earth." 

Dr.  Chiaia  of  Naples  brought  in  1892  the  illiterate  peasant 
woman,  Paladina,  gifted  with  mediumship,  to  Milan  to  meet  a 
scientific  commission  for  the  investigation  of  spirit  phenomena. 
Several  of  the  scientists  were  out-and-out  Materialists,  and 
bitterly  prejudiced  against  Spiritualism.  The  commission  held 
seventeen  sittings.  Among  the  phenomena  were  the  following : 
"  The  weight  of  the  medium  under  varying  magnetic  conditions 
was  found  to  range  from  a  minimum  of  one  hundred  pounds  to 
a  maximum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  pounds.  Diflferent 
articles  put  upon  the  table  were  agitated  and  lifted  up  into  the 
air  by  invisible  hands,  and  at  the  request  of  the  committee  one 
of  the  spirits  present  struck  the  head  of  each  person  in  the 
seance  room."  The  report  declared  that  all  idea  of  the  phe- 
nomena being  produced  by  the  medium  must  be  dismissed  as 
an  impossibility.  This  document  was  signed  by  Alexander  Ak- 
sakof.  Privy  Councillor  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia  and  editor  of 
the  Psychische  Studien;  Prof.  G.  Schiapparelli,  Director  of  the 
Observatory  at  Milan;  Carl  du  Phel,  Doctor  of  Philosophy  at 
Munich;  A.  Brofferio,  Professor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Mazoni 
College  at  Milan;  G.  Geresa,  Professor  of  Physics  in  the  Gov- 
ernment School  of  Science  and  Agriculture  at  Paris ;  Cesare 
Lombreso,  Professor  of  Legal  Medicine  at  the  University,  Por- 
tici;  Charles  Richet,  Professor  of  Medicine  in  the  Sarbonne  at 
Turin;  F.  D.  Armicis,  Director  of  Claims  in  the  University  of 
Naples;  O.  G.  B.  Ermacora  and  G.  Finizi,  both  of  them  doctors 
of  medicine  and  students  in  the  psychic  sciences. 

Here  were  ten  men  occupying  the  highest  positions  in 
Europe  for  scholarship,  science  and  philosophy,  testifying  to 
the  reality  of  the  spirit  manifestations,  after  the  most  careful 
and  crucial  investigations.     They  were  trained  scientists. 

Professor  Lombreso,  a  pronounced  Materialist,  was  manly 
enough  to  publish  an  apology  for    having    ridiculed    psychic 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists  f  129 

phenomena  as  fraud  or  delusion,  adding :  *'  The  reality  of  the 
phenomena  is  to  me  indisputable." 

Raoul  Pictet,  professor  in  the  Genoa  University,  delivered 
a  lecture.  May,  1893,  in  the  hall  of  the  University  in  Liege  in 
Belgium,  giving  in  his  adhesion  to  Spiritualism,  saying:  "  I  am 
constrained  to  do  so  by  the  invincible  logic  of  facts." 

Dr.  Miguel  Sans  Benito,  professor  of  metaphysics  in  the 
University  of  Barcelona,  is  a  devoted  Spiritualist.  He  affirms 
and  publishes  that :  "  Spiritualism  is  the  synthesis  of  the  most 
important  principles  and  discoveries  of  science ;  and  that  we  may 
advantageously  study  it,  with  the  firm  assurance  that  it  will  open 
out  new  horizons  to  our  intelligence,  besides  supplying  our 
hearts  with  a  beautiful  consolation  in  those  bitter  moments  of 
our  lives  which  are  occasioned  by  a  painful  bereavement." 

M.  T.  Falconer,  professor  in  the  Technical  Institute  of  the 
Minister  of  Public  Instruction  at  Alessandria,  in  Piedmont,  is 
an  enthusiastic  Spiritualist,  declaring  that  the  spiritual  phenom- 
ena afTord  "  the  only  positive  proofs  of  a  future  conscious  exist- 
ence." 

Herr  Max  Seiling,  professor  of  polytechnics  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Helsingfers,  the  oldest  in  Russia,  doubted  the  con- 
tinuation of  man's  existence ;  but  through  the  mediumistic  gifts 
of  Madame  d'Esperance,  a  lady  of  both  culture  and  fortune,  he 
was  forced  by  the  most  conclusive  evidences  to  confess  the 
grand  truth  of  a  present  converse  with  spirits  once  clothed  in 
mortality. 

The  learned  Ocharowicz,  professor  in  the  University  of  War- 
saw, was  induced  in  the  latter  part  of  1894  to  study  the  psychic 
phenomena  under  the  most  rigorous  test  conditions  of  mediums. 
Having  previously  studied,  he  was  considered  an  authority  in 
magnetism  and  hypnotism,  and  now  he  was  bound  to  get  at  the 
bottom  of  what  was  denominated  "  Spiritualism."  After  being 
fully  convinced  of  its  truth  he  said,  "  I  found  I  had  done  a  great 
wrong  to  men  who  had  proclaimed  new  truths  at  the  cost  of 
their  positions. 

"  And  now,  when  I  remember  that  I  branded  as  a  fool  that 
fearless  investigator,  Crookes,  the  inventor  of  the  radiometer, 
because  he  had  the  courage  to  assert  the  reality  of  mediumistic 
9 


130  Book  of  Knowledge. 

phenomena,  and  to  subject  them  to  scientific  tests;  and  when 
I  also  recollect  that  I  used  to  read  his  articles  upon  Spiritualism 
with  the  same  stupid  style  as  his  colleagues  in  the  British  Asso- 
ciation bestowed  upon  them,  regarding  him  as  crazy,  I  am 
ashamed  both  of  myself  and  others,  and  I  cry  from  the  very 
bottom  of  my  heart,  '  Father,  I  have  sinned  against  the  light.'  " 

The  erudite  Marghieri,  professor  of  the  physical  sciences  in 
the  University  of  Naples,  and  Dr.  Giulio  Belfiore,  author  of  that 
profound  work  upon  "  Hypnotism  and  its  Therapeutic  EflFects," 
are  both  outspoken  and  active  Spiritualists.  And  so  Prof.  Ar- 
mand  Sabatier,  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  and  Director 
of  the  Zoological  Institute  at  Montpelier — one  of  the  greatest 
minds  in  Europe — has  been  for  some  time  studying  psychic  phe- 
nomena, and  it  is  credibly  reported  that  he  has  become  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  Spiritualism. 

No  intelligent,  conscientious  and  right-minded  person  can 
investigate  the  psychic  phenomena  without  becoming  a  Spirit- 
ualist. Accumulated  evidences  force  conviction.  Faith  blos- 
soms into  knowledge.  Spiritualism  reaffirms  and  reiterates  the 
pure  doctrines  of  primitive  Christianity.  It  sweeps  aside  the 
monstrous  absurdities  that  have  been  grafted  upon  it,  such  as 
the  blood-atonement  dogma,  infant  damnation  and  endless  hell 
torments.  These  horrible  doctrines  have  cursed  the  very  name 
of  Christianity  and  given  agnostics  and  atheists  their  ammuni- 
tion for  perpetual  warfare.  The  Christian  nations  of  the  earth, 
so  it  seems  to  me,  are  so  deeply  immersed  in  barbarous  ignor- 
ance, in  bigoted  intolerance,  in  religious  superstition  and  in 
spiritual  darkness,  that  nothing  but  the  highest  spiritual  revela- 
tions which  are  being  received  all  over  the  globe,  from  the  dis- 
carnated  dwellers  in  the  Unseen,  could  have  prevented  the  so- 
called  civilized  races  of  the  earth  from  sinking  into  a  condition 
of  degradation  and  moral  depravity  resembling  that  which  pre- 
ceded the  destruction  of  the  great  Roman  empire.  Spiritualism 
in  its  higher  and  diviner  aspects,  and  Spiritualism  alone,  will  yet 
convict,  conquer  and  redeem  the  world. 

Prof.  Joseph  Rodes  Buchanan,  M.D.,  the  learned  discoverer 
of  psychometry  and  sarcognomy,  writer  upon  metaphysics, 
author  of  ''  System  of  Anthropology,"  "  The  New  Education," 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?  131 

"  Manual  of  Psychometry,"  and  a  pronounced  adept  in  true 
Theosophy,  has  been  for  years  a  most  distinguished,  outspoken 
Spiritualist. 

Hon.  Luther  Marsh,  New  York  (once  the  law  partner  of 
Daniel  Webster,  the  great  constitutional  expounder  of  law), 
jurist,  law  compiler,  writer  and  author,  is  a  pronounced  Spirit- 
ualist. 

Rt.  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Gladstone,  politician  and  far-seeing  states- 
man, cautiously  says :  "  I  shall  not  adopt  language  of  determined 
disbelief  in  all  manifestations,  real  or  supposed,  from  the  other 
world.  They  give  me  little  satisfaction,  but  that  does  not  war- 
rant meeting  them  with  a  blank  negative.  I  know  of  no  rule 
which  forbids  a  Christian  to  examine  into  the  system  called 
Spiritualism." 

John  G.  Whittier,  the  good  Quaker  poet,  in  his  address  at 
William  Lloyd  Garrison's  funeral  said :  "  Our  beloved  Garri- 
son's faith  in  the  continuity  of  life  was  very  positive.  He 
trusted  more  to  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism  than  I  can,  how- 
ever. My  faith  is  not  helped  by  them,  and  yet  I  wish  I  could 
see  real  truth  in  them.  I  do  believe,  apart  from  all  outward 
signs,  in  the  future  life,  and  that  the  happiness  of  that  life,  as 
of  this,  will  consist  of  labor  and  self-sacrifice."  Again  he  writes 
Charles  Fiske  Bates :  "  I  have  heard  Garrison  talk  much  of  his 
faith  in  Spiritualism.  He  had  no  doubt  whatever,  and  he  was 
very  happy.  Death  was  to  him  but  the  passing  from  one  room 
to  another  and  a  higher  one.  I  wonder  whether  if  I  could  see 
a  real  spirit  I  should  believe  my  own  senses.  I  do  sometimes 
feel  very  near  the  dear  ones  who  have  left  me.  Of  one  thing  I 
feel  sure:  something  outside  of  myself  speaks  to  me,  and  holds 
me  to  duty,  warns,  reproves  and  approves.  It  is  good,  for  it 
requires  me  to  be  good;  it  is  wise,  for  it  knows  the  thoughts 
and  interests  of  the  heart.  It  is  to  me  a  revelation  of  God,  and 
of  his  character  and  attributes;  the  one  important  fact  before 
which  all  others  seem  insignificant." 

Longfellow,  the  Tennyson  of  America,  attended  spiritual 
seances  when  travelling  upon  the  continent,  and  freely  expressed 
his  belief  in  an  open  communion  between  the  visible  and  the  un- 
seen world.    And  accordingly  he  wrote :  "  The  spiritual  world 


132  Book  of  Knowledge. 

lies  all  about  us,  and  its  avenues  are  open  to  the  unseen  feet 
of  phantoms  that  come  and  go,  and  we  perceive  them  not  save 
by  their  influence,  or  when  at  times  a  most  mysterious  provi- 
dence permits  them  to  manifest  themselves  to  mortal  eyes: 

"Then  the  forms  of  the  departed 
Enter  at  the  open  door 
The  beloved  ones,  the  true-hearted 
Come  to  visit  me  once  more." 

Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Wade,  of  Ohio,  ex-President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, and  ex-United  States  Senator ;  and  ex-Senator  Howard,  of 
Michigan,  were  devoted  Spiritualists.  It  was  through  the  in- 
fluence of  these  two  Senators  and  Hamilton  Fish,  Secretary  of 
State,  that  I  was  sent  into  Asiatic  Turkey  as  United  States 
Consul. 

Among  the  further  avowed  Spiritualists,  either  in  private 
or  public,  of  the  old  world,  were  or  are,  W.  F.  Barrett,  Professor 
of  Physics  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science,  Dublin;  Gustav  T. 
Fechner,  Professor  of  Physics  in  the  University  of  Leipsic; 
Lord  Rayleigh,  F.R.S.,  Professor  of  Physics  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge ;  Professor  Scheibner,  teacher  of  mathematics  in  the 
University  of  Leipsic;  VV.  E.  Webber,  Professor  of  Physics  in 
the  University  of  Gottenburg ;  Dr.  Franz  Hofifman,  Professor  of 
Philosophy,  Wertzburg  University;  Professor  Wagner,  Geolo- 
gist, University  of  Russia ;  Professor  Butlerof,  Chemist,  Russia ; 
Prof.  F.  Zoellner,  Leipsic,  author  of  "Transcendental  Physics  "; 
Prof.  Nees  Von  Esenbeck,  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Science,  Germany;  Emilio  Castelar,  the  Spanish  patriot;  Rev. 
John  Page  Hopps,  the  famous  English  preacher ;  W.  M.  Thack- 
eray, the  author;  Prof.  Wm.  Gregory;  S.  C.  Hall,  the  EngHsh 
writer;  Lord  Dunraven;  Lord  Adair;  Blake  and  Flaxman, 
painters;  Hiram  Powers,  the  famous  sculptor;  Hon.  George 
Thompson,  the  bosom  friend  of  Garrison ;  N.  P.  Talmadge,  ex- 
Governor  of  Wisconsiuj-  Senator  Simmons  of  Rhode  Island; 
Hon.  J.  L.  Sullivan,  ex-Minister  to  Portugal ;  Capt.  R.  F.  Bur- 
ton, African  traveller;  Bayard  Taylor,  author  and  traveller; 
Oliver  Johnson,  formerly  editor  of  the  Christian  Union;  Rev. 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?  133 

John  Pierpont,  of  Boston;  Epes  Sargent,  author  and  scientist; 
James  G.  Clark,  writer,  poet  and  musical  composer ;  Joseph  Jef- 
ferson, the  celebrated  actor;  Dr.  Kane,  the  Arctic  explorer; 
Countess  of  Caithness;  Lady  Cowper;  Baron  and  Baroness 
Von  Vay;  H.I.H.  Nicholas,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg ;  H.S.H.  the 
Prince  George  of  Solms,  whom  I  last  met  by  a  beautiful  fountain 
on  Pincian  Hill  in  Rome,  were  thorough  Spiritualists. 

Wm.  S.  Robinson,  the  "  Warrington  "  of  the  highest  phase 
of  journalism,  as  he  neared  his  end  frequently  spoke  of  his 
visions  of  the  future  Hfe.  Richly  enjoying  them,  he  said, 
"  Why,  this  world  and  the  next  are  joined  as  closely  as  my  two 
hands,"  clasping  them  together.  "  There  they  are,  no  break 
between,  no  gulf  to  pass.  I  feel  every  day  like  one  who  walks 
by  a  hedge  and  is  looking  for  a  gate,  a  gap  to  pass  through,  to 
walk  on  the  other  side.  I  don't  know  half  the  time  whether  I 
am  in  the  body  or  not."  These  visions,  Hke  those  of  Peter, 
Paul  and  Patmos  John,  did  not  trouble  him,  for  he  said,  "  he 
was  not  afraid  of  ghosts."  Like  Coleridge,  "  he  had  seen  too 
many  of  them." 

Socrates  was  constantly  attended  with  a  divine  voice  to  ad- 
monish, guard  and  guide  him  in  the  events  of  his  daily  life; 
while  it  urged  to  good  deeds  he  declared  that  it  "  restrained 
from  evil."  It  sustained  him  to  bear  unrepiningly  the  revilings 
of  the  ill-tempered  Xantippe,  and  with  an  unfaltering  trust  to 
drain  the  fatal  cup. 

In  the  palmy  and  prosperous  days  of  Greece,  Spiritualism 
was  the  only  religion  that  inspired  to  the  higher  Hfe.  Hence 
Hume  says :  "  We  learn  from  a  hundred  masterpieces  of  the  in- 
tellect how  untiring  was  that  spirit  of  restless  inquiry  with  which 
every  people  of  Hellas  searched  into  the  secrets  of  the  unseen. 
No  city  was  founded;  no  army  marched  forth  to  battle;  no 
vessels  laden  with  emigrants  set  sail  for  Italy  or  Asia  Minor 
without  consulting  the  oracles  of  the  gods." 

Hon.  John  P.  Brown,  connected  with  the  Turkish  Legation 
in  Constantinople  for  twenty  years,  believed  firmly  in  spiritual 
manifestations. 

Revs.  Minot  J.  Savage,  Wm.  Brunton,  Solon  Lauer,  and 
other  prominent  Unitarian  preachers  are  fully  convinced  of  the 


134  Book  of  Knowledge. 

truths  and  moral  grandeur  of  Spiritualism.  Some  of  them  ad- 
vocate it  openly. 

Such  eminent  statesmen  and  United  States  Senators  as  the 
late  Miller,  of  Alabama,  and  Sprague,  of  Rhode  Island,  were 
Spiritualists. 

W.  Emmette  Coleman,  the  eminent  writer,  author  and 
Orientalist  of  San  Francisco,  California;  Dr.  B.  O.  Flower,  of 
the  Arena,  essayist  and  moral  scientist;  Barrett  Brenning,  the 
poet,  now  of  Italy,  are  Spiritualists. 

Prof.  Alexander  Wilder,  M.D.,  writer,'author,  electrician  and 
metaphysician,  known  for  his  erudition  in  Europe  quite  as  well 
as  in  America,  is  a  confirmed  believer  in  present  inspirations  and 
spirit  ministries. 

Spiritualism  converted  Professor  Hare,  Robert  Dale  Owen, 
Professor  Kiddle,  and  multitudes  of  other  rank  Materialists  to 
faith  in  God  and  immortality.  The  once  doubting,  yet  dis- 
tinguished S.  C.  Hall,  of  London,  rejoicing  used  these  words : 
"  Spiritualism  has  made  me  a  Christian."  J.  E.  Jones,  a  staunch 
English  Spiritualist,  in  his  work  entitled  "  Orthodox  Spirit- 
ualism," makes  this  statement :  "  It  may  be  well,  as  an  historical 
fact,  to  state  that  more  than  one  half  of  the  Spiritualists  of 
England  are  Christians  connected  with  one  or  more  of  the 
churches." 

Truth  is  immortal.  Truth  never  changes,  though  our  con- 
ceptions of  it  change  as  we  grow  and  unfold  spiritually.  Truth 
is  never  old.  No  truth  ever  perished  utterly.  The  truths  pro- 
claimed by  the  early  Christians  live,  though  at  times  half  buried 
under  the  rubbish  of  pagan  myth  and  priestly  confessions  of 
faith.  Often  old  expressed  truths  receive  new  labels.  They 
are  more  taking.  Primitive  Christianity,  with  its  ameliorating 
fraternities  and  inspiring  angel  ministries,  and  true  Spiritualism, 
with  its  rational  philosophy  and  heavenly  ministrations  of 
spirits,  are  in  principle  and  essence  one.  The  New  Testament 
is  a  living  fountain  of  Spiritualism.  And  there  is  enough  gen- 
uine Spiritualism,  enough  of  Christianity  probably,  in  the  pres- 
ent institutional  churchianity  of  the  land  to  prevent  entire  stag- 
nation, or  its  complete  moral  putrefaction.  Around  the  shat- 
tered vase  the  odors  of  the  lilies  still  cling.     SpirituaHsm  is  the 


Who  Are  These  Spiritualists?  135 

only  thing  that  can  save  Christianity  before  the  march  of 
science. 

Schismatics  and  Sectarists  of  different  denominations,  with 
no  succession  and  not  much  of  a  pedigree,  have  never,  singular 
as  it  may  seem,  in  council  or  convention  officially  discussed  the 
claims  of  Spiritualism ;  while  the  Church  of  England,  with  mag- 
nificent courage  and  candor,  grappled  with  it  at  a  regular  church 
congress ;  Dr.  Lightfoot,  Bishop  of  Durham,  presiding,  and  lis- 
tening to  the  papers  read  and  speeches  made  upon  "  The  Duty 
of  the  Church  in  respect  to  Spiritualism."  It  may  be  well  to 
treasure  up  some  of  the  gems  gathered  at  this  church  congress. 
The  learned  Rev.  Dr.  Thornton  said  that  Spiritualism  "  In  its 
very  nature  is  antagonistic  to  all  Saduceeism  and  Materialism. 
It  flatly  contradicts  the  assertion  of  the  miserable  philosophy 
that  makes  the  soul  but  a  function  of  the  brain,  and  death  an 
eternal  sleep.  It  tells  of  angels,  of  an  immortal  spirit,  and  of  a 
future  state  of  personal  and  conscious  existence. 

"  Spiritualists  claim  to  hold  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of 
the  departed.  Now  I  am  far  from  denying  the  possibility  of 
such  intercourse ;  on  the  contrary,  I  believe  that  in  God's  provi- 
dence it  sometimes  does  take  place.  .  .  We  clergymen  are 
terribly  afraid  of  saying  a  word  about  the  intermediate  state  in 
the  spirit  realm  of  existence.  We  draw  a  hard  and  fast  line 
between  the  seen  and  the  unseen  world.  In  vain  does  the  creed 
express  our  belief  in  the  communion  of  saints.  Here,  perhaps, 
some  will  say  to  me,  *  You  seem  half  a  Spiritualist  yourself.' 
Well,  I  am  just  as  much  a  Spiritualist  as  St.  Paul  was  when  he 
wrote,  '  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ — whether  in  the  body  or  out  of 
the  body  I  cannot  tell,  God  knoweth — such  an  one  was  caught 
up  to  the  third  heaven.'  Just  as  much  as  St.  John  when  he  bade 
his  beloved  '  try  the  spirits,'  and  said  of  himself  that  he  was  '  in 
the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day.'  .  .  Let  us  thankfully  acknowl- 
edge the  truth  of  Spiritualists'  teachings  as  weapons  which  we 
are  too  glad  to  wield  against  positivism  and  secularism  and  all 
the  anti-Christianisms  of  this  age." 

Rev.  Canon  Wilberforce,  after  remarking  that  "  Spiritualism 
was  now  undoubtedly  exercising  a  potent  influence  upon  the 
religious  beliefs  of  millions,"  said : 


136  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  Those  who  are  following  Spiritualism  as  a  means  and  not 
an  end  contend  warmly  that  it  does  not  seek  to  undermine 
religion  or  to  render  obsolete  the  teachings  of  Christ;  that, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  furnishes  illustrations  and  rational  proof 
of  them  such  as  can  be  gained  from  no  other  source;  that  its 
manifestations  will  supply  deists  and  atheists  with  positive  dem- 
onstration of  a  life  after  death,  and  that  they  have  been  instru- 
mental in  converting  many  Secularists  and  Materialists  from 
skepticism  to  Christianity." 

In  corroboration  of  this  statement  may  be  appended  the 
remarkable  testimony  of  Mr.  S.  C.  Hall,  the  founder  and  editor 
of  the  Art  Journal.  ''  As  to  the  use  of  Spiritualism,"  he  says, 
'*  it  has  made  me  a  Christian.  I  humbly  and  fervently  thank 
God  it  has  removed  all  my  doubts."  I  could  quote  abundant 
instances  of  conversions  from  unbelief  to  belief — of  some  to 
perfect  faith  from  total  infidelity  I  am  permitted  to  give  one 
name ;  it  is  that  of  Dr.  Elliotson,  who  expresses  his  deep  grati- 
tude to  Almighty  God  for  the  blessed  change  that  has  been 
wrought  in  his  heart  and  mind  by  SpirituaHsm."  When  this  is 
the  standpoint  of  the  believer  in  the  higher  aspects  of  Spirit- 
ualism, it  is  obvious  that  we  have  to  deal  with  no  mere  common- 
place infatuation,  which  can  be  brushed  aside  with  indifference 
or  contempt,  but  rather  with  a  movement  which  is  firmly 
established  in  all  enlightened  lands,  and  the  influence  of  which 
is  every  day  extended.  Appealing,  as  it  does,  to  the  yearnings 
of  the  soul,  especially  in  times  of  bereavement,  for  sensible  evi- 
dence of  the  continuity  of  life  after  physical  death,  belief  in 
modern  Spiritualism  continues  rapidly  to  increase  in  all  ranks 
of  society." 


CHAPTER    V. 
GALAXY  OF   PROMINENT   SPIRITUALISTS. 

We  present  here  a  list  of  prominent  modern  Spiritualists  nearly 
all  of  whom,  and  especially  the  scientific  men,  have  arrived  at  their 
belief  by  careful  and  protracted  experimental  investigation.  Can 
any  reasonable  and  unprejudiced  person,  in  the  face  of  this  tes- 
timony, deny  that  Spiritualism  has  a  scientific  basis?  If  so,  we 
should  like  to  know  his  reasons. 

Professor  Oliver  J.  Lodge,  F.R.S.,  Dr.  Sc,  Prof.  Psychics, 
University  College,  London,  author  of  "  Modern  Views  of  Elec- 
tricity," says :  "  I  went  into  a  state  of  skepticism  as  to  the  reality 
of  Psychical  Phenomena  produced  without  apparent  contact,  but 
this  skepticism  has  been  overborne  by  facts." 

Professor  W.  F.  Barrett,  F.R.S.E.,  Professor  of  Experimental 
Physics  and  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sciences, 
Ireland,  says :  "  The  impressive  fact  of  the  phenomena  is  the  in- 
telligence behind  them  and  the  evidence  of  an  unseen  individuality 
as  distinct  as  our  own." 

Dr.  Robert  Chambers,  F.R.S.,  LL.D.,  author  of  "  Vestiges  of 
Creation,"  "  Cyclopedia  of  English  Literature,"  etc.,  says :  "  Al- 
ready Spiritualism,  conducted  as  it  usually  is,  has  had  a  prodigious 
effect  throughout  America,  and  partly  in  the  old  world  also,  in 
redeeming  multitudes  from  hardened  atheism  and  materialism, 
proving  to  them  by  the  positive  demonstration  which  their  positive 
cast  of  mind  requires,  that  there  is  another  world,  that  there  is  a 
non-material  form  of  humanity,  and  that  many  miraculous  things 
which  hitherto  they  have  scoffed  at,  are  true.  I  have  for  many 
years  known  that  these  phenomena  are  real,  as  distinguished  from 
imposture;  and  when  fully  accepted,  revolutionize  the  whole 
frame  of  human  opinion  on  many  important  matters." 

Professor  Herbert  Mayo,  F.R.S.,  M.D.,  Professor  of  Anatomy 
and   Physiology,   King's   College,   London,   says:   "Twenty-five 


138  Book  of  Knowledge. 

years  ago  I  was  a  hard-headed  unbeliever.  Spiritual  phenomena, 
however,  suddenly  and  quite  unexpectedly,  were  soon  after  devel- 
oped in  my  own  family.  This  led  me  to  inquire  and  to  try 
numerous  experiments  in  such  a  way  as  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  trickery  and  self-deception.  That  the  phenomena  occur  there 
is  overwhelming  evidence,  and  it  is  too  late  now  to  deny  their 
existence." 

Dr.  Lockhart  Robertson,  F.R.S.,  sometime  editor  of  British 
Journal  of  Mental  Sciences,  says :  "  The  writer  can  now  no  more 
doubt  the  physical  manifestations  of  so-called  Spiritualism  than 
we  could  any  other  fact,  as  for  example,  the  fall  of  an  apple  to 
the  ground,  of  which  his  senses  informed  him." 

Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  F.R.S.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L.,  the  foremost 
living  European  naturalist,  says :  "  My  position,  therefore,  is  that 
the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism  in  their  entirety  do  not  require 
further  confirmation.  They  are  proved  quite  as  well  as  any  facts 
are  proved  in  other  sciences,  and  it  is  not  denial  or  quibbling  that 
can  disprove  any  of  them,  but  only  fresh  facts  and  accurate  de- 
ductions from  those  facts." 

Professor  James  Challis,  F.R.S.,  Plimian  Professor  of  As- 
tronomy and  Experimental  Philosophy,  Cambridge  University, 
says :  "  The  testimony  has  been  so  abundant  and  consentaneous 
that  either  the  facts  must  be  admitted  to  be  such  as  reported,  or 
the  possibility  of  certifying  facts  by  human  testimony  must  be 
given  up." 

Professor  A.  De  Morgan,  late  President  of  the  Mathematical 
Society,  says :  ''  The  Spiritualists  beyond  a  doubt  are  on  the  track 
that  has  led  to  all  advancement  in  physical  science.  Their  oppo- 
nents are  the  representatives  of  those  who  have  striven  against 
progress." 

Professor  William  Denton,  the  eminent  lecturer  on  Geology, 
author  of  "  Our  Planet,  its  Past  and  Future,"  "  Soul  of  Things," 
etc.,  says :  "  Spiritualism  is  a  belief  in  the  communication  of  intel- 
ligence from  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  commonly  obtained 
through  a  person  of  susceptibility,  called  a  '  medium.' " 

Professor  Elliott  Coues,  M.A.,  M.D.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of 
Zoology  and  Comparative  Anatomy,  Norwich  University,  etc., 
Professor  of  Biology  in  the  Victorian  Agricultural  College,  Mem- 


Galaxy  of  Prominent  Spiritualists.  139 

ber  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  author  of  "  Field  Or- 
nithology," "  Air  Fauna,"  ''  Columbeana,"  etc.,  writes :  "  Will 
you  have  the  opinion  of  such  a  person  as  I  have  described,  who 
for  about  ten  years  has  studied,  watched,  and  followed  the  phe- 
nomena of  so-called  Spiritualism,  and  who  speaks  from  personal 
experiences  with  almost  every  one  of  them?  Then  let  me  tell 
you  that  I  know  that  the  alleged  phenomena  of  Spiritualism  are 
true,  substantially  as  alleged." 

Professor  Robert  Hare,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Chemistry  in 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Graduate  of  Yale  College  and 
Harvard  University,  Associate  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in- 
ventor of  improvements  in  the  Oxy-hydrogen  blow  pipe,  and 
member  of  various  learned  societies,  author  of  "  Spiritualism 
Scientifically  Demonstrated,  says :  "  Far  from  abating  my  confi- 
dence in  the  inferences  respectmg  the  agencies  of  the  spirits  of 
deceased  mortals,  in  the  manifestation  of  which  I  have  given 
an  account  in  my  work,  I  have  had  even  more  striking  evidences 
of  that  agency  than  those  given  in  the  work  in  question !  " 

Professor  Tornebom,  Sweden,  says :  "  Only  those  deny  the 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism  who  have  never  examined  them,  but 
profound  study  alone  can  explain  them." 

Professor  J.  C.  F.  ZoUner,  Professor  of  Physical  Astronomy 
at  the  University  of  Leipsic,  Member  of  the  Royal  Saxon  So- 
ciety of  Sciences,  Foreign  Member  of  the  Royal  Astronomical 
Society  of  London,  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Natural  Philos- 
ophers at  Moscow,  Honorary  Member  of  the  Physical  Association, 
Frankfort,  of  the  Scientific  Society  of  Psychological  Studies  at 
Paris,  etc.,  of  the  British  National  Association  of  Spiritualists  at 
London,  says :  "  We  have  acquired  proof  of  the  existence  of  an 
invisible  world  which  can  enter  into  relations  with  humanity." 

Professor  James  H.  Hyslop  writes :  "  I  shall  not  remain  by 
the  spiritualistic  theory  if  a  better  one  can  be  obtained  to  explain 
the  phenomena.  I  advance  it  simply  as  a  hypothesis  that  will 
explain  the  facts.  .  .  .  There  is  no  other  explanation  but 
Spiritualism." 

Dr.  Ashburner  (one  of  the  Queen's  physicians),  author  of 
"  Animal  Magnetism  and  Spiritualism." 

Dr.  Paul  Gibier,  Director  of  the  Pasteur  Institute,  New  York, 


I40  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  author  of  "  Spiritualism  or 
Fakirism,"  "  Psychicism,  Analysis  of  Things  Existing,"  etc. 

Dr.  Paul  Gibier,  whose  recent  loss  to  Science  and  Spiritualism 
is  deeply  to  be  regretted,  contends  in  his  interesting  "  Analysis  of 
Things,"  which  has  for  its  subtitle,  **  An  Essay  upon  the  Science 
of  the  Future,"  that  the  proof  of  man's  possessing  a  conscience 
which  survives  the  change  called  death  has  been  already  estab- 
lished by  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism. 

Dr.  J.  M.  Gully,  M.D.,  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  London, 
and  Royal  Physical  Society,  Edinburgh,  author  of  "  Neuropathy 
and  Nervousness,"  says :  "  After  two  years  investigation  of  the 
fact  and  numerous  seances,  I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  and 
have  the  strongest  conviction  that  such  materialization  takes  place, 
and  that  not  the  slightest  attempt  at  trick  or  deception  is  fairly  at- 
tributable to  any  one  who  assisted  at  Miss  Cook's  seances." 

Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles,  M.D.,  the  celebrated  traveler,  author,  and 
speaker,  formerly  the  U.  S.  Consul  at  Tribizond,  author  of  "  The 
Seers  of  the  Ages,"  "  Immortality,  Our  Homes  and  Employments 
in  the  Spirit  World,"  "Three  Journeys  Around  the  World," 
"  Death  Defied,"  "  Christ  Question  Settled,"  etc.,  etc.  , 

Dr.  Hallock,  New  York,  says :  "  Spiritualism  is  no  new  prob- 
lem that  ought  to  have  taken  the  disciples  of  science  by  surprise." 

Dr.  F.  L.  Nicholls,  M.D.,  F.A.S.,  author  of  Esoteric  Anthro- 
pology," etc.,  says :  "  I  have  in  my  possession  direct  writings  and 
drawings  done  under  absolute  test  conditions  by  departed  spirits, 
with  whose  handwriting  I  am  as  familiar  as  with  my  own." 

Lord  Brougham,  Statesman,  writes :  "  Even  in  the  most  cloud- 
less skies  of  skepticism  I  see  a  rain-cloud,  if  it  be  no  bigger  than 
a  man's  hand;  it  is  modern  Spiritualism." 

Baron  Carl  du  Prel,  Munich,  states:  "One  thing  is  clear: 
that  psychography  must  be  ascribed  to  a  transcendental  origin. 
We  shall  find :  That  the  hypothesis  of  prepared  slates  is  inadmis- 
sible. The  place  on  which  the  writing  is  found  is  quite  inaccessible 
to  the  hands  of  the  medium.  This  intelligence  can  read,  write 
and  understand  the  language  of  human  beings,  frequently  such 
as  is  unknown  to  the  medium.  These  beings  are,  therefore,  al- 
though invisible,  of  human  nature,  or  species.  It  is  no  use  what- 
ever to  fight  against  the  proposition." 


Galaxy  of  Prominent  Spiritualists,  141 

Camille  Flammarion,  the  famous  astronomer,  author  of  "  The 
Unknown,"  remarks  that  ahhough  Spiritualism  is  not  a  religion 
but  a  science,  yet  the  day  may  come  when  religion  and  science 
will  be  reunited  in  one  single  synthesis. 

Mr.  (and  Mrs.)  S.  C.  Hall,  F.S.A.,  Editor  Art  Journal, 
writes :  "  The  mockers  and  scoffers  at  Spiritualism  are  almost  ex- 
clusively those  who  have  seen  nothing  of  it,  know  nothing  about 
it,  and  will  not  inquire  concerning  it." 

Hudson  Tuttle,  author  of  "  Arcana  of  Nature,"  "  Arcana  of 
Spiritualism,"  "  Religion  of  Man,"  "  Studies  in  Psychic  Science," 
etc.,  remarks :  "  Spiritualism  is  the  knowledge  of  everything  per- 
taining to  the  spiritual  nature  of  man ;  and,  as  spirit  is  the  mov- 
ing force  of  the  universe,  in  its  widest  scope  it  grasps  the  dominion 
of  Nature.  It  embraces  all  that  is  known  and  all  that  ever  can 
be  known.  It  is  Cosmopolitan  Eclecticism,  receiving  all  that  is 
good  and  rejecting  all  that  is  bad." 

Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  writes :  "  One  of  the  deepest  and  most 
imperative  craving  of  the  human  heart  as  it  follows  its  beloved 
ones  beyond  the  veil,  is  for  some  assurance  that  they  still  love 
and  care  for  us.  .  .  .  They  have  overcome,  have  risen,  are 
crowned,  glorified ;  but  still  they  remain  to  us,  our  assistants,  our 
comforters,  and  in  every  hour  of  darkness  their  voice  speaks 
to  us." 

Henry  W.  Longfellow,  poet,  says :  "  The  spiritual  world  lies 
all  about  us,  and  its  avenues  are  open  to  the  unseen  feet  of  phan- 
toms that  come  and  go,  and  we  perceive  them  not  save  by  their 
influence,  or  when  at  times  a  most  mysterious  providence  permits 
them  to  manifest  themselves  to  mortal  eyes." 

Dr.  Adam  Clarke  says :  "  I  believe  that  there  is  a  supernatural 
and  spiritual  world  in  which  human  spirits,  both  good  and  bad, 
live  in  a  state  of  consciousness.  I  believe  that  any  of  these  spirits 
may,  according  to  the  order  of  God,  in  the  laws  of  their  place  of 
residence,  have  intercourse  with  this  world  and  become  visible 
to  mortals." 

Robert  S.  Wyld,  LL.D.,  says :  "  With  regard  to  spirit  writing, 
there  is  no  order  of  spiritual  phenomena  which  impresses  me  more 
powerfully.  .  .  .  The  evidence  that  the  writing  was  produced 
by  a  spiritual  intelligence,  without  the  intervention  of  human 
hands,  was  overwhelming." 


142  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold  writes :  "  All  I  can  say  is  this :  that  I  regard 
many  of  the  manifestations  as  genuine  and  undeniable,  or  in- 
explicable by  any  known  law,  or  collusion  arrangement  or  decep- 
tion of  the  senses ;  and  that  I  conceive  it  the  duty  and  interest  of 
men  of  science  and  sense  to  examine  and  prosecute  the  inquiry, 
as  one  which  has  thoroughly  passed  from  the  region  or  ridicule." 

Eugene  Nus,  poet,  philosopher,  dramatic  author  and  journal- 
ist, declared  in  his  "  Things  of  the  Other  World,"  "  that  he  had 
found  Spiritualism  everywhere,  and  that  it  is  sowing  the  seeds 
of  a  systematic  morality  which  is  greatly  preferable  to  the  dreary 
negations  which  Materialism  offers  us." 

Victor  Hugo  writes :  "  To  abandon  these  spiritual  phenomena 
to  incredulity  is  to  commit  a  treason  against  human  reason." 

Lord  Tennyson,  England's  Poet  of  the  Century. 

Nicholas,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg ;  Abraham  Lincoln;  Lord 
Bulwer  Lytton;  John  Ruskin;  Sir  W.  Trevelyan. 

Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning  writes :  "  For  theories  we  get  over 
no  difficulty,  it  seems  to  me,  by  escaping  from  the  obvious  infer- 
ence of  an  external  spiritual  agency.  When  the  phenomena  was 
attributed,  for  instance  to  a  second  personality,  projected  un- 
consciously and  attended  by  an  unconscious  exercise  of  volition 
and  clairvoyance ;  I  see  nothing  clearly  but  a  convulsive  struggle 
on  the  part  of  the  theorist  to  get  out  of  a  position  he  does  not 
like,  at  whatever  expense  of  kicks  at  the  analogies  of  God's 
universe." 

L.  Figuer,  editor  UAnne  Scientific  et  Industrielle,"  who  had 
done  so  much  to  popularize  science,  and  in  whose  book  entitled 
"  The  Day  After  Death,"  there  is  such  a  fund  of  spiritual  knowl- 
edge, wrote  as  follows :  "  I  hold  it  for  a  certainty  that  there  exists 
intermediate  beings  between  God  and  man.  I  am  absolutely  ig- 
norant as  to  how  they  can  communicate  with  the  earth,  but  the 
fact  of  such  communication  appears  to  be  positive." 

Alexander  Dumas,  pere,  believed  in  spirits,  apparitions  and  un- 
seen influences.  He  always  believed  that  his  father's  spirit  came 
just  after  it  had  quitted  the  body  to  say  farewell  to  him.  He  felt 
warm  breath  on  his  face  and  heard  a  voice  say :  "  Alexander,  I 
have  come  to  bid  you  adieu.  Be  a  good  boy  and  love  your 
mother."     (Memoir  by  Mrs.  Emil  Crawford.) 


Galaxy  of  Prominent  Spiritualists.  143 

W.  M.  Thackeray  says :"  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  who  have 
probably  never  seen  any  Spiritual  Manifestations  to  talk  as  you 
do ;  but  if  you  had  seen  what  I  have  witnessed,  you  would  hold  a 
different  opinion." 

I.  H.  Fichte,  the  German  philospher  and  author,  writes :  "  I 
feel  it  my  duty  to  bear  testimony  to  the  great  fact  of  Spiritualism. 
No  one  should  keep  silent." 

William  Lloyd  Garrison  says :  "  For  the  last  three  years  we 
have  kept  pace  with  nearly  all  that  has  been  published  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  we  have  witnessed  at  various  times  many  surprising 
'  manifestations '  ;  and  our  conviction  is  that  they  cannot  be 
accounted  for  on  any  other  theory  than  that  of  spiritual  agency." 

Hon.  Luther  R.  Marsh  states :  "  It  is  not  enough  to  know  the 
fact  of  immortality.  It  asserts  its  value  only  when  it  so  enters 
and  controls  the  life  as  to  make  the  spirit  worthy  of  this  im- 
mortal and  inestimable  boon." 

Archbishop  Whately :  "  The  Archbishop  had  long  been  a  be- 
liever in  mesmerism  and  latterly  in  clairvoyance  and  Spiritualism." 
(Memoirs  of  Whately.     Fitzpatrick). 

Rev.  Mmot  J.  Savage,  D.D.,  author  of  "  Psychics,  Facts  and 
Theories,"  ''  Life  Beyond  Death,"  etc. 

Rev.  B.  F.  Austin,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  Canada,  writes :  "  After  some 
years  of  investigation,  after  a  great  variety  of  circumstances,  I 
dare  affirm  that  the  ethical  system  taught  in  these  spirit  com- 
munications has  never  been  surpassed  in  the  lofty  character  of 
the  duties  it  proclaims  or  the  power  and  variety  of  the  motives 
it  urges  to  secure  obedience  to  law.  The  spiritual  beauty,  in- 
herent divinity  of  many  of  these  spirit  messages  renders  the 
thought  of  their  diabolical  origin  a  moral  impossibility  and  the 
origin  of  that  thought  a  blasphemy." 

Canon  Wilber force  says :  "  It  is  a  strengthening,  calming  con- 
sideration that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  an  invisible  world  of  spirit- 
ual beings  than  whom  we  have  been  made  for  a  little  while  lower. 
Blessed  be  God  for  the  knowledge  of  a  world  like  this.  It  is 
evidently  that  region  or  condition  of  space  in  which  the  departed 
find  themselves  immediately  after  death;  probably  it  is  nearer 
than  we  imagine,  for  St.  Paul  speaks  of  our  being  surrounded  by 
a  cloud  of  witnesses.    There  it  seems  to  me  they  are  waiting  for 


144  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Rev.  W.  E.  Channing  says :  "  We  have  good  reason  to  believe 
that  if  we  obtain  admission  into  heaven,  we  shall  still  have  oppor- 
tunity, not  only  to  return  to  earth,  but  to  view  the  operation  of 
God  in  distant  spheres,  and  be  his  ministers  in  other  worlds." 

Theodore  Parker  says:  "  It  (SpirituaHsm)  has  more  evidence 
for  its  wonders  than  any  historic  form  of  religion  hitherto, 
it  admits  all  the  truths  of  religion  and  morality  in  all  the 
world's  sects.  .  .  .  Shall  we  know  our  friends  again? 
For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  doubt  it;  least  of  all  when  I  drop 
a  tear  over  their  recent  dust.  Death  does  not  separate  them 
from  here.    Can  life  in  heaven  do  it  ?  " 

Rev.  Adin  Ballou  states  :  *''  Departed  spirits  have  a  higher  mes- 
meric, magnetic,  or  psychologic  power  than  have  mortals  of  a  cor- 
responding grade.  Facts  have  proven  this  in  many  remarkable 
cases.  It  will  yet  be  demonstrated  to  the  conviction  of  all  candid 
investigators." 

Rev.  E.  R.  Sanborn  says :  "  There  are  sad  hearts  for  whom 
death  has  made  this  world  a  tomb,  which  have  been  cheered  and 
lifted  into  light  and  glory  by  the  scintillations  of  love  from  an 
unknown  world,  which  unseen  lies  around  us  all.  The  gloom 
has  been  transformed  into  shimmering  splendor,  by  processes 
more  marvellous  than  any  physicist  has  found.  And  souls  to 
whom  this  world  has  been  a  hell,  have  been  suddenly  awakened 
to  find  it  a  heaven,  surpassing  any  tale  of  seer  or  fairy." 

T.  B.  Barkas,  F.G.S.,  writes:  "I  have  investigated  and  ex- 
perimented under  every  kind  of  reasonable  test  my  ingenuity  could 
devise.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  all  tests  and  all  precautions, 
phenomena  have  taken  place  which  are  utterly  inexplicable  by 
reference  to  any  known  physical  or  psychological  law.  All  this 
I  have  done  with  the  cold  eye  and  steady  pulse  of  a  scientist." 

Phillip  Pearsall  Carpenter,  Naturalist,  says :  "  I  have  left  oflf 
beHeving  in  deaths  (so-called)." 

F.  W.  H.  Meyers,  Member  of  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 
author  of  "  Phantasms  of  the  Living,"  states :  ''  Not,  then,  with 
tears  and  lamentations  should  we  think  of  the  blessed  dead. 
Rather  we  should  rejoice  with  them  in  their  franchisement  and 
know  that  they  are  still  minded  to  keep  us  as  sharers  in  their  joy. 
It  is  they,  not  we,  who  are  working  now,  they  are  more  ready  to 


Galaxy  of  Prominent  Spiritualists.  145 

hear  than  we  to  pray ;  they  guide  us  as  with  a  cloudy  pillar,  but 
it  is  kindling  to  steadfast  fire." 

Washington  Irving  writes :  **  What  could  be  more  consoling 
than  the  idea  that  the  souls  of  those  we  once  loved  were  permitted 
to  return  and  watch  over  our  welfare.  I  see  nothing  in  it  (Spirit- 
ualism) that  is  incompatible  with  the  tender  and  merciful  nature 
of  our  religion,  or  revolting  to  the  wishes  and  affections  of  the 
heart." 

Charlotte  Bronte  says :  "  Besides  this  earth  and  besides  this 
race  of  men,  there  is  an  invisible  world  and  a  kingdom  of  spirits : 
that  world  is  around  us,  for  it  is  everywhere;  and  these  spirits 
watch  us,  for  they  are  commissioned  to  guard  us." 

Horace  Greeley,  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  says :  "  I 
have  sat  with  three  others  around  a  small  table,  with  every  one 
of  our  eight  hands  lying  plainly,  palpably  on  the  table,  and  heard 
rapid  writing  with  a  pencil  on  paper,  which  perfectly  white  we 
had  just  previously  placed  under  the  table ;  and  we  have  the  next 
minute  picked  up  the  paper  with  a  sensible,  straightforward 
message  of  twenty  to  fifty  words  fairly  written  thereon.  .  .  . 
Yet  I  am  quite  confident  that  none  of  the  persons  present,  who 
were  visible  to  mortal  eyes  wrote  it." 

Bellachini,  Court  Conjurer,  states :  "  I  have  thoroughly  ex- 
amined with  minutest  observation  and  investigation  of  the  sur- 
roundings including  the  table,  and  have  not  in  the  smallest 
instance  found  anything  to  be  produced  by  means  of  prestidigita- 
tive  manifestations  or  by  mechanical  apparatus." 

Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  says :  "  If  I  have  not  satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  these  phenomena  which  I  have 
just  described,  then  there  is  no  such  thing  as  evidence,  and  all  the 
fabric  of  natural  science  may  be  a  mass  of  imposture." 

M.  Auguste  Vaquerie,  Dramatist,  Journalist,  and  Man  of 
Letters,  remarks :  "  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  say,  as  regards  the 
existence  of  what  are  called  spirits,  that  I  have  no  doubt  of 
it.  .  .  .  Why  should  they  not  communicate  to  a  man  by  any 
means  whatsoever ;  and  why  should  not  that  means  be  a  table  ?  " 

Padre  Secchi,  an  Italian  priest  of  conspicuous  ability  in  the 
Church  of  Rome,  says :  "  Spiritualism  will  be  the  great  event  of 
the  present  century." 


146  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Charles  Fauvety,  also  a  distinguished  French  Philosopher 
and  author  of  "  The  New  Revelation,"  declared  modern  Spirit- 
ualism to  be  the  force  which  will  regenerate  society. 

Colonel  Count  de  Rochas  d'Aiglun,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the 
great  Polytechnic  School  in  Paris,  and  author  of  some  highly 
important  works  on  Psychic  Science,  accepts  Spiritualism  as  a 
great  scientific  truth,  and  the  action  of  invisible  beings  upon  in- 
carnate intelligences  as  a  demonstrable  fact." 

General  Pix,  a  French  writer  who  adopts  the  nom  de  plume 
of  "  Henri  Constant,"  in  a  work  on  "  The  Religion  of  the 
Future,"  observes :  "  Spiritualism,  a  doctrine  more  powerful  than 
all  the  combined  forces  which  live  in  darkness,  has  ended  by  tri- 
umphing over  all  its  enemies  and  to-day  it  emerges  from  its  pro- 
tracted lethargy,  more  vital,  more  powerful  and  more  robust 
than  ever  it  was." 

Rene  Caillie,  son  of  the  celebrated  explorer  who  discovered 
Timbuctoo,  published  a  work  entitled  "  Christian  Spiritualism," 
has  written  in  eloquent  terms  of  the  lofty  morality  which  it  in- 
culcates, and  terms  it  "  the  revelation  of  revelations." 

Edouard  Grimard,  Professor  in  the  University  of  Paris,  ex- 
Director  of  Normal  Schools,  a  valued  contributor  to  the  Revue 
de  Deux  Mondes,  and  author  of  that  excellent  work,  "  La  Plante 
Botanique  Simplifiee,"  writes  in  his  beautiful  "  An  Escape  into 
the  Infinite,"  that  Spiritualism  "  occupies  itself  with  the  most 
serious  things  of  science,  philosophy,  morality  and  religion;  in 
a  word,  with  the  wonders  of  the  invisible  world;  that  is  to  say 
with  the  loftiest  preoccupations  which  can  haunt  the  human 
brain." 

Madame  Rufina  Noeggerath,  authoress  of  that  striking  work, 
"  The  Survival,"  while  declaring  the  reality  of  the  facts  of  Spir- 
itualism, reminds  us  that  they  have  the  voice  of  all  antiquity  in 
their  favor,  and  are  attested  in  our  own  times  by  men  of  the 
highest  authority  in  science,  whose  good  faith,  integrity,  and 
intelligence  are  above  suspicion. 


CHAPTER   VL 
INCIDENTS    IN    MY   LIFE. 

BY  D.   D.    HOME. 

I  was  born  near  Edinburgh  in  March,  1833.  When  I  was 
about  a  year  old,  I  was  adopted  by  an  aunt,  and  I  accompanied 
her  and  her  husband  to  America  when  I  was  about  nine  years  old. 
I  was  very  delicate  as  a  child,  and  of  a  highly  nervous  tempera- 
ment ;  so  much  so  that  it  was  not  thought  that  I  could  be  reared. 
I  cannot  remember  when  I  first  became  subject  to  the  curious 
phenomena  which  have  now  for  so  long  attended  me,  but  my  aunt 
and  others  have  told  me  that  when  I  was  a  baby  my  cradle  was 
frequently  rocked,  as  if  some  kind  guardian  spirit  was  tending 
me  in  my  slumbers.  My  aunt  has  also  told  me  that  when  I  was 
about  four  years  old  I  had  a  vision  of  the  circumstances  attending 
the  passing  from  earth  of  a  little  cousin,  I  being  at  Portobello, 
near  Edinburgh,  and  she  at  Linlithgow,  all  of  which  proved  to  be 
entirely  correct,  though  I  had  mentioned  persons  as  being  present 
about  her  whom  it  was  thought  could  not  have  been  there,  and 
had  noticed  the  absence  of  her  father  on  the  water,  at  a  time 
when  it  was  thought  that  he  must  have  been  with  her  at  home. 

When  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  the  first  vision  which  I  dis- 
tinctly remember  occurred.  I  was,  from  my  delicate  health,  un- 
able to  join  the  sports  of  other  boys  of  my  own  age.  I  had,  a 
few  months  before  the  vision  which  I  am  about  to  relate,  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  boy  two  or  three  years  my  senior,  and  some- 
what similar  to  myself  both  in  character  and  organization.  We 
were  in  the  habit  of  reading  the  Bible  together,  and  upon  one 
occasion,  in  the  month  of  April,  as  we  had  been  reading  it  in  the 
woods,  and  we  were  both  of  us  silently  contemplating  the  beauties 
of  the  springing  vegetation,  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  Oh !  I 
have  been  reading  such  a  strange  story !  "  and  he  told  me  a  ghost 
story  connected  with  the  family  of  Lord ,  and  which  I  have 


148  Book  of  Knowledge, 

since  found  to  be  well  authenticated.  A  portrait  of  the  lady  to 
whom  it  occurred  still  exists  in  the  family  and  is  known  as  the 

lady  with  the  black  ribbon.     The  present  Lord  ,  who  is  of 

the  same  family,  has  told  me  that  he  was  born  in  the  chamber 
where  the  spirit  appeared.  My  friend  Edwin  asked  me  if  I 
thought  the  story  could  be  true,  and  I  said  I  did  not  know,  but 
that  I  had  heard  strange  things  of  that  kind.  We  then  agreed 
that  whichever  one  of  us  should  first  be  called  from  earth,  would, 
if  God  permitted  it,  appear  to  the  other  the  third  day  afterwards. 
We  read  another  chapter  of  the  Bible  together,  and  we  prayed 
that  so  it  might  be  to  us.  About  a  month  from  this  time  I  went 
with  my  family  to  reside  at  Troy  in  the  State  of  New  York,  a 
distance  from  Norwich,  where  Edwin  lived,  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred miles.  I  had  been  to  spend  the  evening  at  the  latter  end  of 
June  with  some  friends,  and  nothing  had  occurred  during  the 
evening  to  excite  my  imagination,  or  to  excite  my  mind ;  on  the 
contrary  I  was  in  a  calm  state.  The  family  had  retired  to  rest 
and  I  at  once  went  to  my  room,  which  was  so  completely  filled 
with  the  moonlight  as  to  render  a  candle  unnecessary.  After 
saying  my  prayers  I  was  seated  on  the  bed,  and  about  to  draw 
the  sheet  over  me,  when  a  sudden  darkness  seemed  to  pervade 
the  room.  This  surprised  me,  as  I  had  not  seen  a  cloud  in  the 
sky ;  and  on  looking  up  I  saw  the  moon  still  shining,  but  it  was 
on  the  other  side  of  the  darkness,  which  still  grew  more  dense, 
until  through  the  darkness  there  seemed  to  be  a  gleam  of  light, 
which  I  cannot  describe,  but  is  was  similar  to  those  which  I  and 
many  others  have  seen  when  the  room  has  been  illuminated  by 
spiritual  presence.  This  light  increased  and  my  attention  was 
drawn  to  the  foot  of  my  bed  where  stood  my  friend  Edwin.  He 
appeared  as  in  a  cloud  of  brightness,  and  the  only  difference  I 
saw  was  that  his  hair  was  long  and  that  it  fell  in  wavy  ringlets 
upon  his  shoulders.  He  looked  on  me  with  a  smile  of  ineffable 
sweetness,  then  slowly  raising  the  right  arm,  he  pointed  upward, 
and  making  with  it  three  circles  in  the  air,  the  hand  began  slowly 
to  disappear,  and  then  the  arm  and  finally  the  whole  body  melted 
away.  The  natural  light  of  the  room  was  then  again  apparent. 
I  was  speechless  and  could  not  move,  though  I  retained  all  my 
reasoning  faculties.    As  soon  as  the  power  of  movement  was  re- 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  149 

stored,  I  rang  the  bell,  and  the  family,  thinking  I  was  ill,  came  to 
my  room,  when  my  first  words  were,  "  I  have  seen  Edwin — he 
died  three  days  ago  at  this  very  hour."  This  was  found  to  be 
perfectly  correct  by  a  letter  which  came  a  few  days  afterwards, 
announcing  that  after  only  a  few  hours  illness  he  had  died  of 
malignant  dysentery. 

My  mother  was  a  seer  throughout  her  life.  She  passed  from 
earth  in  the  year  1850  at  the  age  of  forty-two.  She  had  what  is 
known  in  Scotland  as  the  second  sight,  and  in  many  instances 
she  saw  things  which  were  afterwards  found  to  have  occurred 
at  a  distance,  just  as  she  had  described  them.  She  also  foresaw 
many  events  which  occurred  in  the  family  and  foretold  the  pass- 
ing away  of  relatives,  and  lastly,  she  foretold  her  own  death 
four  months  previously. 

I  was  then  seventeen  and  was  residing  at  Norwich,  Connecti- 
cut, and  my  mother  was  living  at  Waterford,  near  New  London, 
twelve  miles  distant.  One  day  I  suddenly  felt  a  strong  impulse 
that  she  wished  to  see  me  and  I  walked  all  the  way  in  conse- 
quence of  this  impression.  When  I  got  home,  I  felt  an  impres- 
sion that  she  had  something  particular  to  communicate  to  me  that 
evening.  When  we  were  alone  I  turned  to  her  and  said,  "  What 
have  you  to  say  to  me,  mother?"  She  looked  at  me  with  in- 
tense surprise,  and  then  a  smile  came  over  her  face,  and  she  said, 
"  Well,  dear,  it  was  only  to  tell  you  that  four  months  from  this 
time  I  shall  leave  you."  I  asked  incredulously  how  she  knew, 
and  she  said,  "  Your  little  sister,  Mary,  came  to  me  in  a  vision, 
holding  four  lilies  in  her  hand,  and  allowing  them  to  slip  through 
her  fingers  one  after  the  other,  till  the  last  one  had  fallen,  she 
said,  *  And  then  you  will  come  to  me.'  I  asked  her  whether  the 
four  lilies  signified  years,  months,  weeks  or  days,  and  she  told  me 
'  months.'  "  I  had  been  quite  impressed  by  this  narration,  when 
my  mother  added — "  and  I  shall  be  quite  alone  when  I  die,  and 
there  will  not  be  a  relative  near  to  close  my  eyes."  This  appeared 
to  me  so  improbable,  not  to  say  impossible,  inasmuch  as  the 
family  was  a  large  one,  and  we  had  many  relatives,  that  I  said 
to  her,  "  Oh,  mother,  I  am  so  delighted  you  have  told  me  this, 
because  it  shows  that  it  must  be  a  false  vision."  She  shook  her 
head.    Mary  was  a  little  sister  who  had  been  taken  from  earth 


150  Book  of  Knowledge. 

under  most  trying  circumstances  about  four  years  previously. 
My  mother  was  out  for  a  walk,  leaving  the  child  at  home,  and  on 
returning,  having  to  cross  a  running  stream,  and  whilst  she  was 
on  the  bridge  over  it,  she  saw  what  appeared  to  be  some  loose 
clothes  floating  on  the  water,  and  hastening  to  the  side  to  see 
what  it  was,  she  drew  out  the  body  of  her  child. 

The  apparently  impossible  prophecy  was  literally  fulfilled, 
for  by  a  strange  complication  of  circumstances,  my  mother  was 
taken  ill  amongst  strangers,  and  a  telegram  which  they  sent  on 
the  last  day  of  the  fourth  month  announcing  her  serious  illness, 
only  reached  us  about  half-past  eleven  in  the  morning.  Being 
myself  confined  to  bed  by  illness  at  the  house  of  my  aunt,  and 
she  being  unable  to  leave  me,  the  telegram  was  sent  on  to  my 
father.  That  same  evening,  about  twilight,  being  alone  in  my 
room,  I  heard  a  voice  at  the  head  of  my  bed  which  I  did  not 
recognize,  saying  to  me  solemnly,  "  Dan,  twelve  o'clock."  I 
turned  my  head  and  between  the  window  and  my  bed  I  saw 
what  appeared  to  be  the  bust  of  my  mother.  I  saw  her  lips  move 
and  again  I  heard  the  same  words,  "  Dan,  twelve  o'clock."  A 
third  time  she  repeated  this,  and  disappeared  from  my  sight.  I 
was  extremely  agitated,  and  rang  the  bell  hastily  to  summon  my 
aunt ;  and  when  she  came  I  said,  "  Aunty,  mother  died  to-day  at 
twelve  o'clock,  because  I  have  seen  her,  and  she  told  me."  She 
said,  "  Nonsense,  child,  you  are  ill,  and  this  is  the  effect  of  a 
fevered  brain."  It  was,  however,  too  true,  as  my  father  found 
on  going  to  see  her,  that  she  had  died  at  twelve  o'clock,  and  with- 
out the  presence  of  a  relative  to  close  her  eyes. 

My  mother  has  also  told  me  that  her  great  uncle,  Colin  Urqu- 
hart,  and  her  uncle,  Mr.  Mackenzie,  were  also  seers,  and  gifted 
with  the  second  sight. 

A  few  months  after  my  mother  had  passed  from  earth,  one 
night  on  going  to  bed,  I  heard  three  loud  blows  on  the  head  of 
my  bed  as  if  struck  by  a  hammer.  My  first  impression  was  that 
some  one  must  be  concealed  in  my  room  to  frighten  me.  They 
were  again  repeated,  and  as  they  were  sounding  in  my  ears,  the 
impression  first  came  to  me  that  they  were  something  not  of  earth. 
After  a  few  moments'  silence  they  were  again  heard,  and  al- 
though I  spent  a  sleepless  night,  I  no  longer  felt  or  heard  any 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  151 

repetition  of  them.  My  aunt  was  a  member  of  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land, and  I  had  some  two  years  previously,  to  her  great  disap- 
probation, become  a  member  of  the  Wesleyan  body — but  her 
opposition  was  so  violent  that  I  left  them  to  join  the  Congrega- 
tionalists.  On  going  down  to  breakfast  in  the  morning  she  noticed 
my  wan  appearance,  and  taunted  me  with  having  been  agitated 
by  some  of  my  prayer  meetings.  I  was  about  to  seat  myself  at 
the  breakfast  table,  when  our,  ears  were  assailed  by  a  perfect 
shower  of  raps  all  over  the  table.  I  stopped  almost  terror-stricken 
to  hear  again  such  sounds  coming  with  no  visible  cause ;  but  I  was 
soon  brought  back  to  the  realities  of  life  by  my  aunt's  exclamation 
of  horror,  "  So  you've  brought  the  devil  to  my  house,  have  you  ?  '* 
I  ought  here  to  state  that  there  had  then  been  some  talk  of  the  so- 
called  Rochester  knockings  through  the  Fox  family,  but  apart 
from  casually  hearing  of  them,  I  had  paid  no  attention  to  them; 
I  did  not  even  know  what  they  meant.  My  aunt,  on  the  contrary, 
had  heard  of  them  from  some  of  the  neighbors,  and  considered 
them  as  some  of  the  v/orks  of  the  Evil  One.  In  her  uncontrollable 
anger,  she  seized  a  chair  and  threw  it  at  me.  Knowing  how  en- 
tirely innocent  I  was  of  the  cause  of  her  unfortunate  anger,  my 
feelings  were  deeply  injured  by  her  violence,  and  at  the  same  time 
I  was  strengthened  in  a  determination  to  find  out  what  might  be 
the  cause  of  these  disturbances  of  our  morning  meal.  There  was 
in  the  village  three  ministers,  one  a  Congregationalist,  one  a  Bap- 
tist, and  the  other  a  Wesleyan.  In  the  afternoon  my  aunt,  her 
anger  at  me  having  for  the  moment  caused  her  to  lose  sight  of 
her  prejudices  against  these  rival  persuasions,  sent  for  them  to 
consult  with  her,  and  to  pray  for  me,  that  I  might  be  freed  from 
such  visitations.  The  Baptist  minister,  Mr.  Mussey,  came  first, 
and  after  having  questioned  me  as  to  how  I  had  brought  these 
things  about  me,  and  finding  that  I  could  give  him  no  explana- 
tion, he  desired  that  we  might  pray  together  for  a  cessation  of 
them.  Whilst  we  were  thus  engaged  in  prayer,  at  every  mention 
of  the  Holy  names  of  God  and  Jesus,  there  came  gentle  taps  on 
his  chair,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  room ;  whilst  at  every  ex- 
pression of  a  wish  for  God's  loving  mercy  to  be  shown  to  us 
and  our  fellow-creatures,  there  were  loud  rappings,  as  if  joining 
in  our  heartfelt  prayers.     I  was  so  struck,  and  so  impressed  by 


152  Book  of  Knowledge. 

this,  that  then  and  there,  upon  my  knees,  I  resolved  to  place  my- 
self entirely  at  God's  disposal,  and  to  follow  the  leadings  of  that 
which  I  then  felt  must  be  only  good  and  true,  else  why  should 
it  have  signified  its  joy  at  those  special  portions  of  the  prayer? 
This  was,  in  fact,  the  turning  point  of  my  life,  and  I  have  never 
had  cause  to  regret  for  one  instant  my  determination,  though 
I  have  been  called  on  for  many  years  to  suffer  deeply  in 
carrying  it  out.  My  honor  has  been  called  in  question,  my  pride 
wounded,  my  early  prospects  blighted,  and  I  was  turned 
oijt  of  house  and  home  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  though  still  a  child 
in  body  from  the  delicacy  of  my  health,  without  a  friend  and  with 
three  younger  children  dependent  on  me  for  support. 

Of  the  other  two  clergymen,  the  Congregationalist  would  not 
enter  into  the  subject,  saying  that  he  saw  no  reason  why  a  pure- 
minded  boy  should  be  persecuted  for  what  he  was  not  responsible 
to  prevent  or  cause,  and  the  Methodist  was  so  unkind,  attributing 
it  to  the  devil,  that  I  derived  no  comfort  from  him. 

Notwithstanding  the  visits  of  these  ministers,  and  the  con- 
tinued horror  of  my  aunt,  which  only  increased  as  each  manifes- 
tation was  developed,  the  rappings  continued,  and  the  furniture 
now  began  to  be  moved  about  without  any  visible  agency.  The 
first  time  this  occurred  I  was  in  my  room,  and  was  brushing  my 
hair  before  the  looking-glass.  In  the  glass  I  saw  a  chair  that 
stood  between  me  and  the  door,  moving  slowly  towards  me. 
My  first  feeling  was  one  of  intense  fear  and  I  looked  round  to  see 
if  there  were  no  escape ;  but  there  was  the  chair  between  me  and 
the  door,  and  still  it  moved  towards  me  as  I  continued  looking  at 
it.  When  within  about  a  foot  of  me  it  stopped,  whereupon  I 
jumped  past  it,  rushed  down  stairs,  seized  my  hat  in  the  hall,  and 
went  out  to  wonder  on  this  wonderful  phenomenon. 

After  this,  when  sitting  quietly  in  the  room  with  my  aunt  and 
uncle„  the  table,  and  sometimes  the  chairs,  and  other  furniture, 
were  moved  about  by  themselves  in  a  singular  way,  to  the  great 
disgust  and  surprise  of  my  relations.  Upon  one  occasion,  as  the 
table  was  being  thus  moved  about  of  itself,  my  aunt  brought  the 
family  Bible,  and  placing  it  on  the  table,  said,  "  There,  that  will 
soon  drive  the  devils  away ;  "  but  to  her  astonishment  the  table 
only  moved  in  a  more  lively  manner,  as  if  pleased  to  bear  such  a 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  153 

burden.  Seeing  this,  she  was  greatly  incensed,  and  determining 
to  stop  it,  she  angrily  placed  her  whole  weight  on  the  table,  and 
was  actually  lifted  up  with  it  bodily  from  the  floor.  My  only 
consolation  at  this  time  was  from  another  aunt,  a  widow,  who 
lived  near,  whose  heartfelt  sympathy  did  much  to  cheer  and 
console  me.  At  her  house,  when  I  visited  her,  the  same  phenom- 
ena occurred ;  and  we  there  first  began  to  ask  questions,  to  which 
we  received  intelligent  replies.  The  spirit  of  my  mother  at  her 
house  in  this  way  communicated  the  following :  "  Daniel,  fear 
not,  my  child,  God  is  with  you,  and  who  shall  be  against  you? 
Seek  to  do  good :  be  truthful  and  truth-loving,  and  you  will 
prosper,  my  child.  Yours  is  a  glorious  mission — you  will  con- 
vince the  infidel,  cure  the  sick,  and  console  the  weeping."  This 
was  the  first  communication  I  ever  received,  and  it  came  within 
the  first  week  of  these  visitations.  I  remember  it  well.  I  have 
never  forgotten  it,  and  can  never  forget  it  while  reason  and  life 
shall  last.  I  have  reason  to  remember  it,  too,  because  this  was  the 
last  week  I  passed  in  the  house  of  the  aunt  who  had  adopted  me, 
for  she  was  unable  to  bear  the  continuance  of  the  phenomena, 
which  so  distressed  her  religious  convictions,  and  she  felt  it  a 
duty  that  I  should  leave  her  house,  which  I  did. 

One  of  the  singular  manifestations  which  occurred  during 
this  first  week,  was  in  connection  with  Mrs.  Force,  a  neighbor. 
I  should  mention  that  by  this  time  the  neighbors  had  heard  of 
what  was  occurring  in  my  presence,  and  were  besieging  the  house 
in  a  way  that  did  not  tend  to  soothe  the  religious  susceptibilities 
of  my  aunt.  Being  one  evening  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Force,  the 
raps  were  heard  and  the  alphabet  was  used  in  the  way  that  has 
now  become  familiar  to  many.  The  name  of  her  mother  was  in 
this  way  given,  announcing  her  presence  and  words  were  spelt 
out  reproaching  her  with  having  so  long  forgotten  her  half-sister, 
who  had  been  married  some  thirty  years  previously  to  a  farmer, 
who  removed  to  the  far  west,  and  had  not  since  been  heard  of. 
Her  mother  went  on,  by  means  of  the  alphabet  and  the  raps,  to 
state  the  name  of  the  town  where  this  daughter  by  a  former 
husband  lived,  the  number  of  their  children,  and  each  of  their 
names.  Mrs.  Force  wrote  to  the  address  thus  given,  and  received 
a  letter  in  reply  confirming  every  particular ;  and  the  family  was 


154  Book  of  Knowledge. 

in  this  way  again  brought  together,  and  mutual  sympathies  were 
interchanged.  On  visiting  Mrs.  Force  the  following  year,  I  found 
that  she  had  one  of  her  newly  found  nephews  to  visit  her  the 
previous  autumn. 

I  go  into  these  particulars  not  to  revive  or  to  cause  painful 
recollections  to  any  one,  but  merely  to  show  the  history  of  my 
mediumship,  and  the  mysterious  working  of  Providence  in  thus 
throwing  me  before  the  public.  Had  it  not  been  for  this  chain 
of  circumstances,  these  truths  might  not  have  been  so  widely 
known  as  they  are  now. 

Although  the  manifestations  had  only  lasted  a  week,  they  had 
become  known  not  only  to  the  town,  but  through  the  newspapers 
they  were  becoming  public  all  over  the  New  England  States ;  and 
when  I  left  my  aunt's  house,  I  went  to  a  neighboring  town,  Willi- 
mantic,  and  was  received  at  the  house  of  a  friend  there.  Whilst 
I  was  with  him,  these  phenomena  were  repeated,  and  those  pres- 
ent investigated  them  in  the  most  determined  manner.  I  find  the 
following  account  of  what  occurred  stated  in  a  newspaper  of 
March,  1851 : 

"  At  request,  the  table  was  moved  repeatedly,  and  in  any  direc- 
tion that  we  asked  to  have  it.  All  the  circle,  the  medium  in- 
cluded, had  their  hands  flat  upon  the  table  while  it  was  in  the  most 
rapid  motion,  and  saw  that  no  legs  or  feet  had  any  agency  in  the 
movement.  The  table  was  a  large  and  heavy  one,  without  castors, 
and  could  not  be  moved  by  Mr.  Hayden  in  the  same  manner  by 
all  his  exertion  with  his  hands  laid  open  upon  the  table.  At  one 
time,  too,  the  table  was  moved  without  the  medium's  hands  or 
feet  touching  it  at  all.  At  our  request,  the  table  was  turned  over 
into  our  lap.  The  table  was  moved,  too,  while  Mr.  Hayden  was 
trying  to  hold  it  still!  Mr.  Hayden  took  hold  of  the  top  at  first, 
and  failing  that  way,  he  grasped  the  leg  and  held  it  with  all  his 
strength.  The  table  did  not  move  so  freely  as  before.  It  would 
move  a  little  way  from  Mr.  Hayden  and  then  the  invisible  power 
would  suddenly  relax  its  effort,  when  it  would  spring  back  with 
the  exertion  of  Mr.  Hayden." 

I  was  then  eighteen  years  old,  and  on  seeing  this  article 
which  made  me  so  public,  I  shrank  from  so  prominent  a  position 
with  all  the  earnestness  of  a  sensitive  mind;  but  I  now  found 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  155 

myself  finally  embarked  without  any  volition  of  my  own,  and, 
indeed,  greatly  against  my  will,  upon  the  tempestuous  sea  of  a 
public  life.  From  this  time  I  never  had  a  moment  to  call  my  own. 
In  sickness  or  in  health,  by  day  or  night,  my  privacy  was  in- 
truded on  by  all  comers,  some  from  curiosity  and  some  from  higher 
motives.  Men  and  women  of  all  classes  and  all  countries;  phy- 
sicians and  men  of  science,  ministers  of  all  persuasions,  and  men 
of  literature  and  of  art,  all  have  eagerly  sought  for  the  proofs  of 
this  great  and  absorbing  question  of  the  possibility  of  spiritual 
causes  acting  on  this  world  of  nature.  For  myself,  I  have  no 
apology  to  offer  for  the  occurrence  of  these  unwonted  manifesta- 
tions in  my  own  case.  As  will  have  been  seen,  they  came  to  me 
quite  unsought  and  with  all  the  unpleasant  and  painful  accompani- 
ments which  I  have  described.  I  have  not,  and  never  had  the 
slightest  power  over  them,  either  to  bring  them  on,  or  to  send 
them  away,  or  to  increase,  or  to  lessen  them.  What  may  be  the 
peculiar  laws  under  which  they  have  become  developed  in  my 
person  I  know  no  more  than  others.  Whilst  they  occur  I  am  not 
conscious  of  the  mode  by  which  they  are  produced,  nor  of  the 
sort  of  manifestation  that  is  about  to  occur.  Any  peculiar  sen- 
sations that  I  may  experience  during  certain  of  the  manifesta- 
tions, I  will  describe  as  far  as  I  can,  while  mentioning  the  visions 
or  external  phenomena.  Beyond  being  of  a  highly  nervous  or- 
ganization, there  is  nothing  peculiar  about  me  that  I  am  aware  of ; 
but  I  continue  to  have  delicate  health,  and  I  firmly  believe  that 
had  it  not  been  for  these  phenomena  I  could  not  have  lived  till 
now.  In  this  belief  many  physicians  of  high  standing  have  given 
their  testimony  to  bear  me  out.  Frequently  during  the  most 
severe  visitations  of  illness,  my  pains  have  been  suddenly  soothed 
in  a  mysterious  way  and  many  times  when  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  have  moved  me  in  bed,  for  fear  of  increased 
hemorrhage  from  the  lungs,  my  head  has  been  slowly  lifted,  and 
my  pillow  has  been  turned  by  unseen  hands.  This  has  been  re- 
peatedly witnessed  by  many  persons.  Especially,  I  would  say, 
that  I  do  not  on  this  account  or  on  any  other,  consider  myself 
morally  superior  to  others,  on  account  of  moral  or  immoral  qual- 
ities. On  the  contrary,  with  the  great  blessings  which  have  been 
showered  on  me,  and  the  ineffable  proofs  of  God's  providence 


156  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  goodness  to  me,  I  feel  myself  only  worse  than  others  that  I 
should  have  made  so  little  progress  in  the  path  of  good.  I  have 
to  thank  God  for  many  kind  friends,  not  less  than  for  many 
bitter  enemies,  since  they  keep  my  mind  in  an  equilibrium,  and 
do  not  suffer  me  to  feel  any  pride,  at  what  no  doubt  is  an  accident, 
so  to  speak,  of  my  organization. 

These  extraordinary  occurrences  have,  with  some  exceptions, 
continued  with  me  ever  since  the  time  I  stated  as  their  com- 
mencement, and  they  have  extended  their  range,  to  my  astonish- 
ment not  less  than  to  that  of  others,  in  the  most  striking  manner. 
They  have  proved  to  me  and  to  thousands  of  careful  and  able 
investigators,  the  existence  of  spiritual  forces  which  are  calculated 
to  revolutionize  the  current  ignorance  both  of  philosophy  and 
of  theology,  as  men  have  made  them.  The  exceptions  to  which  I 
refer  have  been  of  periods  during  which  the  power  has  left  me 
entirely;  for  instance,  from  the  loth  of  February,  1856,  to  the  loth 
of  February,  1857,  during  which  time  I  had  no  external  token 
of  spirit  power,  though  I  on  several  occasions  had  visions,  one 
of  which  was  my  seeing  the  manner  in  which  a  brother  passed 
from  earth.  He  was  frozen  in  the  Polar  Seas  whilst  out  bear- 
shooting  with  the  captain  and  officers  of  his  ship.  Falling  into 
a  fissure  of  the  ice,  he  was  not  found  till  the  following  morning. 
I  saw  all  this  in  a  vision  at  the  very  time  of  its  occurrence  and 
informed  my  family  of  it  five  months  before  the  confirmation  of 
the  intelligence  arrived.  On  several  other  occasions  the  power 
has  ceased  for  shorter  periods,  and  generally  I  have  been  told 
beforehand,  both  of  the  times  of  its  cessation  and  return.  I 
could  never  detect  any  physical  cause  for  such  cessation,  nor  any 
difference  in  my  general  feelings  of  health,  although  the  reason 
given  for  the  withdrawal  has  commonly  been  on  the  ground  of 
health.  Upon  several  occasions,  however,  the  reason  given  was 
that  it  was  withdrawn  from  me  as  a  reproof  for  having  done  that 
which  I  knew  to  be  wrong. 

I  remained  in  Willimantic  but  a  short  time,  and  then  I  went 
to  Lebanon,  a  few  miles  off.  There  I  was  received  in  the  family 
of  an  old  resident.  After  I  had  been  with  them  a  few  days,  I 
saw  a  spirit  who  called  himself  Uncle  Tilden.  I  asked  a  lady, 
a  member  of  the  family,  if  she  recognized  the  name,  but  before 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  157 

she  had  time  to  make  answer,  the  spirit  made  signs  to  me  that 
he  did  not  wish  the  lady  to  tell  the  name  and  that  he  would  come 
on  another  occasion  to  me,  when  he  could  have  more  perfect 
control.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  he  came  whilst  I  was  en- 
tranced and  signified  that  certain  papers  which  his  family  had 
been  seeking  for  years,  and  for  which  they  had  given  up  the 
search  as  hopeless,  would  be  found  in  a  house  which  he  described 
as  situate  near  Cleveland,  Ohio.  They  were  the  title  deeds  of 
some  land  which  had  become  valuable  for  building  purposes, 
and  out  of  which  a  lady  was  entitled  to  her  thirds,  but  which  by 
reason  of  the  loss  of  the  deeds,  were  withheld  from  her,  and  she 
was  in  consequence  living  in  very  straitened  circumstances. 
He  described  to  them  minutely  through  me  the  part  of  the  garret 
and  the  form  of  the  box  in  which  they  would  be  found.  Her  son 
was  written  to  with  these  particulars;  the  search  was  made  and 
the  deeds  were  found  as  described. 

The  second  week  of  my  stay  at  Lebanon,  I  had  been  to  pass 
a  day  or  two  with  an  English  family  residing  about  three  miles 
off.  One  afternoon  I  suddenly  became  unconscious  or  entranced, 
and  on  awaking,  the  lady  of  the  house  told  me  that  I  had  been 
speaking  with  some  spirit,  who  directed  me  to  proceed  at  once 

to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  B .     I  had  seen  two  brothers  of  this 

name  one  evening  a  week  previously,  and  no  interchange  of  visits 
had  been  made  or  proposed,  and  I  felt  that  it  would  be  most 
awkward  for  me  to  call  on  them,  saying  only  that  I  had  been 
sent  by  my  unseen  friends.  The  distance  was  also  six  miles 
from  where  I  then  was,  and  three  miles  of  the  journey  I  would 
have  to  walk.  I  knew  that  when  I  returned  to  my  friends  at 
Lebanon  I  could  have  their  conveyance;  but  still  I  had  no  in- 
clination to  pay  the  visit.  As  soon  as  this  was  fully  decided  in 
my  mind  I  was  again  made  unconscious,  and  on  recovering  I 
was  told  that  I  had  received  strict  injunctions  to  leave  at  once, 
though  no  reason  was  assigned  why  I  should  go.  I  then  felt, 
however,  that  the  order  ought  to  be  obeyed,  and  I  went  to  my 
room  for  the  purpose  of  dressing  for  the  journey.  While  there, 
my  reasoning  faculties  again  assumed  the  ascendancy,  and  I 
thought  that  if  I  were  thus  sent  I  ought  at  least  to  know  for 
what  purpose.    However,  I  soon  again  felt  myself  impelled  by 


158  Book  of  Knowledge. 

a  force  far  superior  to  mine,  and  which  to  have  even  attempted 
to  resist  would  have  been  folly.  On  leaving  the  house,  all  this 
left  me,  and  I  walked  the  three  nfiles  to  Lebanon,  wondering 
what  could  be  the  cause  of  this  singular  errand.  On  arriving, 
I  stated  to  my  friends  there  all  that  had  occurred,  and  they  also 
thought  it  would  have  been  quite  well  to  have  ascertained  why 
I  had  been  sent.  Finding  that  they  agreed  with  me  in  this,  I 
now  again  fully  determined  to  proceed  no  farther,  but  I  was 
quickly  made  insensible,  and  on  awaking  I  found  that  orders  had 
been  given  by  the  family  to  have  a  horse  saddled,  and  that  I  was 
admonished  in  a  gentle  but  firm  manner  for  my  want  of  faith 
and  overweening  curiosity,  whereas  I  ought,  I  was  told,  to  have 
followed  as  a  child  would  its  teacher  or  an  indulgent  parent. 

Before  I  left  the  house  to  complete  the  journey,  the  sun  had 
set,  and  now  rain-laden  clouds  were  fast  overshadowing  the  sky. 
The  road  was  lonely,  and  for  the  month  of  April  the  weather  was 
uncommonly  chill.  I  had  agreed  in  my  mind  that  my  guardians 
had  been  teaching  me  a  useful  lesson  and  I  resolved  that  thence- 
forward I  would  not  seek  to  know  their  purposes.  In  this  frame 
of  mind  I  reached  what  I  knew  from  description  must  be  the 

house  of  Mr.  B ,  and  as  I  was  about  to  dismount  the  first  rain 

drop  fell  on  my  ungloved  hand  and  with  the  contact  came  the 

most  vivid  impression  that  Mr.  B 's  mother  was  dangerously 

ill.  I  rang  the  bell,  and  Mr.  B having  seen  me,  came  him- 
self to  open  the  door.  As  he  did  so,  I  said,  "  Your  mother  is  ill  and 
I  have  been  sent  to  say  what  will  relieve  her."  His  look  of 
intense  surprise  baffles  description,  as  he  said,  "  How  on  earth 
could  you  have  known  of  her  illness,  as  it  is  only  an  hour  since 
she  fell  ill,  and  we  have  sent  in  another  direction  for  a  medical 
man,  but  I  fear  he  will  not  arrive  in  time  to  save  my  poor  mother, 
as  she  seems  sinking  so  rapidly."  On  entering  the  house  I 
stood  waiting  to  see  what  impression  I  might  receive.  Whilst  I 
was  standing  I  was  thrown  suddenly  into  a  trance,  and  I  was  told 

by  Mr.  B that  in  that  state  I  led  the  way  to  his  mother's 

bedroom,  and  that  after  making  a  few  passes  over  her  with  my 
hands,  the  acute  pains  left  her,  and  that  in  a  few  minutes'  time 
she  was  in  a  quiet  sleep.  Whilst  in  the  trance,  I  also  mentioned 
simple  remedies  of  herbs  for  immediate  use.    I  was  then  led  by 


Incidents  in  My  Life,  159 

the  unseen  power  into  the  sitting-room,  and  there  returned  to 
my  normal  state,  greatly  surprised  when  these  things  were  related 
to  me.  The  doctor  arrived  in  about  an  hour,  to  find  his  patient 
quite  out  of  danger,  and  on  examining  her,  he  said  that  from  the 
nature  and  violence  of  the  attack  it  would  in  all  probability  have 
been  fatal  had  steps  not  been  taken  at  once  to  alleviate  the  symp- 
toms.    A  letter  written  a  few  weeks  after  to  a  friend  by  Mr. 

B ,  says  that  "  his  mother  has  not  had  such  health  for  eighteen 

years  past  as  she  now  enjoys;  she  follows  implicitly  all  the  in- 
structions given  through  Daniel,  and  the  effect  is  magical." 

I  remained  in  Lebanon  till  the  month  of  June,  having  seances 
nearly  every  day,  my  mediumship  principally  consisting  of  vis- 
ions, movements  of  the  table  and  furniture  without  my  touching 
them,  and  of  the  rapping  sounds  through  which  intelligent  mes- 
sages were  received.  While  there,  in  the  beginning  of  June,  all 
these  external  manifestations  ceased  entirely,  and  I  left  Lebanon 

about  the  middle  of  June  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  G at  Boonton, 

New  Jersey.  I  had  still  visions  frequently  of  the  spirit  friends 
of  persons  who  were  perfect  strangers  to  me,  describing  their 
appearance;  and  the  spirits  gave  me  their  names  and  dates  of 
their  departure  from  earth,  with  answers  to  other  questions  of  a 
test  nature  which  their  relatives  asked.  These  came  to  me  whilst 
I  was  in  a  normal  or  trance  state,  and  in  which  I  was  unconscious 
of  natural  surroundings,  but  with  a  facility  of  speech  far  superior, 
as  I  was  told,  to  that  of  my  ordinary  condition,  and  through  which 
I  transmitted  with  readiness  the  replies  of  the  spirits  to  the  ques- 
tions asked  of  them.  I  was  so  exceedingly  sensitive  at  this  time, 
that  the  playing  of  sacred  music  would  frequently  throw  me  into 
a  trance  state,  in  which  I  am  always  in  companionship  with  spirit 
friends,  and  that  in  as  perfect  and  palpable  a  manner,  as  in  my 
ordinary  external  state  I  am  with  my  friends  of  this  world. 
Through  these  means  hundreds  of  persons  became  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  spiritual  communion,  and  found  their  skeptical 
tenets  no  longer  available.  I  then  found,  as  I  still  find,  that  all 
honest,  deep  rooted  skepticism  rather  calls  out  than  prevents  the 
proofs  of  which  it  stands  so  much  in  need;  and  atheists,  deists 
and  infidels  were  thus  often  brought  to  a  belief  in  Providence 
and  direct  spirit  guidance. 


i6o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

About  the  middle  of  July,  1851,  I  went  to  Brooklyn,  New 

York,  on  a  visit  to  Mr.  C .     While  here  I  had  the  pleasure 

of  first  meeting  the  learned  and  good  George  Bush,  an  eminent 
theologian  and  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Oriental  languages  at 
New  York.  Professor  Bush  was  quite  prepared  to  acknowledge 
the  possibility  of  such  phenomena  from  his  acquaintance  with  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg,  and  the  spiritual  experiences  of  Jung 
Stilling  and  others.  He  was  also  a  profoundly  learned  man, 
with  a  more  open  and  child-like  mind  than  often  falls  to  the  lot 
of  those  with  so  much  worldly  knowledge.  He  had  made,  more- 
over, the  greatest  sacrifices,  by  giving  up  his  worldly  prospects 
in  the  church,  in  avowing  his  belief  in  Swedenborg's  works. 
Professor  Bush  took  a  deep  interest  in  observing  the  mental 
phenomena  which  occurred  through  me,  though  there  were  no 
external  manifestations.  The  communications  he  received  were 
of  such  a  nature  as  to  leave  no  manner  of  doubt  in  his  mind,  as 
to  the  real  presence  with  us  of  those  who  had  gone  before. 
Amongst  other  names,  he  told  me  that  I  had  given  him  that  of 
an  old  school- fellow,  whom  he  had  forgotten  for  many  years, 
and  that  this  school-fellow  referred  to  a  dream  which  the  Pro- 
fessor had  had  on  the  very  night  on  which  the  boy  had  passed 
from  earth,  although  he  was  not  then  aware  even  of  the  boy's 
illness.  The  spirit  of  the  boy  now  told  me  the  whole  of  the  Pro- 
fessor's dream,  which  was  that  whilst  they  were  playing  together, 
he  suddenly  saw  his  school-fellow  taken  from  him,  and  heard 
his  voice  saying,  "  I  leave  you,  George,  but  not  forever."  A 
dream  of  forty  years  previously,  was  thus  brought  to  his  re- 
membrance. The  Professor  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  this 
that  he  called  on  me  the  next  day,  and  wished  to  have  me  reside 
with  him  for  the  purpose  of  studying  for  the  Swedenborgian 
ministry.  I  went  to  the  house  with  the  intention  of  so  doing, 
but  within  forty-eight  hours  1  saw  in  my  waking  state  the  spirit 
of  my  mother,  who  said  to  me,  "  My  son,  you  must  not  accept 
this  kind  offer,  as  your  mission  is  a  more  extended  one  than 
pulpit  preaching."  On  seeing  the  good  Professor,  I  told  him  of 
this  spirit  message.     He  expressed  regret,  but  no  surprise,  and 

so  I  returned  to  my  friend,  Mr.  C ,  and  remained  with  him 

till  the  end  of  August.     I  frequently  afterwards  saw  Professor 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  i6i 

Bush,  with  whom  the  most  kindly  intercourse  was  interchanged. 
Here  again  in  New  York  many  were  convinced. 

I  returned  to  Lebanon,  but  I  was  not  able  to  see  any  strangers 
on  account  of  my  very  delicate  health,  and  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, my  young  friend,  the  son  of  Mrs.  E ,  fell  ill,  and  I 

saw  the  spirit  of  his  father,  whom  I  had  not  known  on  earth, 
though  I  had  frequently  seen  him,  and  received  communications 
from  him  both  in  the  trance  and  waking  state,  on  my  former  visit 
to  Lebanon.  He  came  to  me  whilst  I  was  alone  in  my  room,  and 
standing  near  me,  said,  "  Ezra  will  be  with  me  in  three  weeks ; 

go  to  him."    I  was  then  staying  with  a  Mr.  F ,  about  three 

miles  from  the  boy.  I  obeyed  the  spirit  message,  and  went  at 
once,  and  found  Ezra  ill.  He  wished  me  to  stay  with  him,  but 
the  family  thought  it  was  a  passing  illness,  and  that  I  might  pro- 
long my  visit  for  a  few  days  to  Mr.  F .    I  did  not  tell  them 

what  I  had  seen,  and  in  about  four  days  afterwards  they  sent  for 
me  to  come  to  them,  as  Ezra  was  worse.  I  went,  and  with  his 
sister  I  took  care  of  him,  till  his  departure,  which  occurred  on 
the  nineteenth  day  of  his  illness.  He  was  about  eighteen,  and  had 
become  conversant  with  the  facts  of  spirit  intercourse  through 
me  a  few  months  before,  and  had  himself  become  a  partial 
medium,  receiving  occasional  communications,  principally  from 
his  father,  by  means  of  the  rapping  and  the  alphabet.  Soon  after 
my  first  visiting  him  in  his  illness,  on  his  sister  leaving  the  room 
for  a  moment,  he  took  the  opportunity  of  telling  me  with  perfect 
composure,  that  he  knew  he  would  not  recover,  as  he  had  been 
told  by  raps  on  his  pillow,  by  his  father,  that  this  was  his  last 
illness.  This  extraordinary  composure  remained  with  him 
throughout,  and  I  told  the  family  ten  days  before  my  vision,  which 
prepared  them  for  the  coming  change.  About  two  days  before 
his  leaving  us,  the  doctor  asked  me  to  break  it  to  him,  when  I  in- 
formed him  that  Ezra  had  been  long  aware  of  it.  He  doubted 
this  from  seeing  him  so  composed,  and  I  desired  him  to  stand 
at  the  door  and  hear  what  I  would  say  to  Ezra.  I  then  went  to 
his  bed  and  told  him  that  the  doctor  had  left  some  news  for  him. 
He  laughingly  said,  "  I  suppose  it  is  to  tell  me  that  I  am  going. 
Little  does  he  imagine  that  I  have  already  decided  who  my  bearers 
are  to  be."    The  doctor  now  came  into  the  room,  and  taking  his 


1 62  Book  of  Knowledge. 

hand,  said,  "  My  dear  boy,  if  I  had  not  heard  this,  I  could  not 
have  believed  it.  You  have  everything  to  make  life  happy,  and 
yet  you  are  so  willing  to  leave  it."  A  few  hours  after  this  a 
deacon  of  the  church  visited  him,  who  was  much  opposed  to 
these  things,  to  the  extent  even  of  telling  untruths  and  misrepre- 
sentations. He  argued  with  the  dying  boy,  trying  to  take  away 
his  happy  belief,  but  fortunately  without  the  slightest  success. 
The  boy  told  him  that  he  willingly  placed  all  his  hopes  in  the 
hands  of  an  all  wise  God,  and  that  he  felt  that  the  change  would 
be  most  happy  for  him.  The  last  evening  of  his  stay  on  earth 
several  persons  came  to  the  house,  and  I  was  told  by  one  of 
them  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  watching  to  see  if  he  did  not 
recant  or  turn  coward  at  the  last.  I  told  this  to  Ezra,  and  he  re- 
quested that  they  should  be  brought  into  his  room,  where  I 
left  them  for  a  few  hours  rest.  At  half-past  one  in  the  morning 
Ezra  sent  for  me,  and  I  found  them  still  there,  he  having  been 
speaking  with  them  a  great  part  of  the  time.  In  speaking  to  his 
mother,  he  said,  "  Only  think,  dear  mother,  I  shan't  be  lame 
there."  He  had  been  lame  since  he  was  six  months  old.  He 
asked  me  to  look  out  of  the  window  and  to  tell  him  what  kind 
of  morning  it  was.  I  told  him  it  was  bright  moonlight,  and  he 
recalled  to  me  a  conversation  we  had  some  months  previously, 
in  which  he  said  he  should  like  to  pass  away  in  the  moonlight, 
whilst  I  had  said  I  should  like  to  go  at  sunset.  He  expressed 
a  wish  that  no  one  should  wear  mourning  for  him.  He  asked 
me  to  take  his  hand,  and  whilst  I  held  it,  his  face  suddenly  as- 
sumed a  beatified  expression,  and  he  pronounced  my  name,  as 
if  calling  me  to  witness  some  happy  vision  passing  before  his 
eyes,  and  the  breathing  ceased. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  happy  death-beds  which  I  have  wit- 
nessed, and  such  consolation  given  at  a  time  like  this  is  sufficient 
proof  of  the  loving  wisdom  of  our  Heavenly  Father  in  allowing 
such  things  to  take  place.  Some  may  be  surprised  to  find  an 
apparent  prophecy  in  this  case  given  both  to  the  boy  and  to  me, 
but  perhaps  a  larger  view  of  spiritual  insight  may  teach  us  that 
such  is  only  apparent  to  us  in  this  natural  sphere,  and  that  to 
those  who  have  spiritual  insight  and  perceptions,  there  probably 
was  some  bodily  change  in  his  organism  which  made  clear  to 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  163 

those  in  the  spiritual  state  the  mortal  character  of  his  disease. 
Since  his  departure  he  has  been  frequently  present  with  me, 
impressing  me  to  write  messages  to  his  mother  and  sister.  Some- 
times my  hand  has  been  taken  possession  of  apparently  by  him, 
and  used  in  writing  his  own  autograph.  In  a  letter  received 
from  his  sister  dated  the  9th  of  February,  1852,  she  says,  "  Ezra 
was  with  you  to  a  certainty  when  you  were  writing,  for  that  is 
his  autograph  and  chirography ;  the  kindness  of  the  advice  almost 
overwhelms  me  when  I  think  how  spirits  watch  over  and  com- 
fort us." 

The  following  is  an  account  taken  from  a  newspaper  of  other 
manifestations  at  this  time : 

"  After  several  communications  had  been  spelled  out,  a  request 
was  made  that  the  table  might  be  moved  in  order  to  convince 
some  present  who  were  skeptical.  Accordingly  very  soon  slight 
movements  were  perceptible,  which  soon  became  very  rapid.  A 
light  was  placed  upon  the  floor  under  the  table,  and  one  remained 
on  the  table.  Our  hands  were  raised  so  that  the  ends  of  our 
fingers  only  touched.  One  end  was  then  moved  up  so  that  it 
was  poised  on  the  two  opposite  legs  upon  an  elevation  in  the 
floor,  and  in  this  position  it  remained  for  awhile,  keeping  time 
with  music  by  rocking;  and  in  the  same  way  questions  were 
answered,  three  movements  being  considered  an  affirmative  and 
one  a  negative ;  and  after  numerous  questions  were  given  and  as 
many  satisfactory  answers  received,  three  gentle  raps  were  heard 
at  the  door  by  a  part  of  the  company,  and  the  question  was  asked 
if  any  one  was  rapping  at  the  door?  and  immediately  three  de- 
cided movements  of  the  table  were  made,  and  accompanying  them 
were  three  more  decided  raps  at  the  door. 

"  An  emphatic  call  for  the  alphabet  followed,  and  spelled  out, 
'  Spirits — Door ; '  the  question  was  asked  if  there  were  spirits  at 
the  door  who  wished  to  come  in?    Three  raps. 

"  It  was  suggested  that  they  were  to  help  in  moving  the  table, 
and  an  affirmative  reply  immediately  followed.  Then  commenced 
larger  and  more  decided  movements — ^the  table  being  slid  freely 
about  the  floor,  and  raised  alternately  one  side  and  then  the  other 
several  inches;  and  at  one  time  it  was  raised  nearly  to  an  angle 
of  forty-five  degrees,  poised  on  two  side  legs,  and  then  by  oscil- 


164  Book  of  Knowledge. 

lating  movements  the  time  was  correctly  kept  to  several  tunes 
sung  by  the  company. 

"  Several  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  bring  the  table 
to  the  floor,  which  were  relinquished  for  the  fear  of  breaking  the 
leaves.  By  request  it  was  carefully  let  down  on  one  side,  and  in 
a  moment  raised  again  to  its  proper  position.  One  of  the  com- 
pany then  seated  himself  upon  the  table,  and  it  was  moved  about 
and  raised  up  so  as  to  render  it  necessary  for  him  to  hold  on, 
and  this,  too,  with  as  much  ease  apparently  as  before.  Again,  by 
request,  it  was  slid  while  one  was  pushing  against  it  in  an  op- 
posite direction  to  the  uttermost  of  his  strength." 

I  remained  in  Lebanon  up  to  the  end  of  January,  1852;  the 
physical  manifestations  having  spontaneously  returned  in  October 
previously,  and  with  increased  power,  and  with  the  new  phase 
of  unseen  hands  touching  me  and  others  with  whom  I  was  sitting. 
We  frequently  were  touched  by  them,  and  on  some  occasions  a 
spirit  hand  was  placed  within  our  hands  as  palpably  as  if  it 
were  a  real  living  hand,  though  invisible  to  us.  It  would  remain 
quietly  in  our  hands  until  we  tried  to  close  them  upon  it,  and  even 
then  it  was  not  withdrawn,  but,  as  it  were,  melted  away  in  our 
grasp. 

I  went  to  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  an  entire  stranger,  but 
having  heard  of  Mr.  Henry  Gordon,  a  medium  there,  I  asked  for 
and  was  directed  to  his  house.  He  received  me  most  kindly,  and 
said  that  he  was  about  to  have  a  seance  that  evening,  requesting 
me  to  join  them.  I  did  so,  but  the  contending  influences  pre- 
vented the  occurrence  of  manifestations.  Those  who  were  there 
assembled  had  to  leave  at  an  early  hour,  and  Mr.  Gordon  ac- 
companied them,  leaving  me  with  five  or  six  friends  who  had 
come  in  the  mean  time.  Among  these  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elmer, 
the  former  being  a  believer,  but  Mrs.  Elmer  having  violently 
opposed  it.  I  was  thrown  into  a  trance,  made  to  sit  near  her, 
telling  her  the  names  of  her  mother,  father,  brothers  and  sisters  ; 
then  of  her  children,  all  of  whom  were  in  the  spirit  world;  and 
I  repeated  to  her  the  last  words  of  two  of  her  children.  Turning 
to  an  older  lady  in  the  room,  I  did  the  same  and  so  on  through  all 
those  who  were  present.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elmer  have  since  been 
my  friends,  and  at  their  house  some  most  remarkable  manifesta- 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  165 

tions  occurred.  I  stayed  with  them  for  some  time,  and  great  in- 
terest was  excited  by  the  accounts  given  by  the  very  numerous 
witnesses  who  came  to  see  the  manifestations.  Whilst  here  the 
power  was  very  strong,  and  frequently  I  had  seances  six  or  seven 
times  a  day,  at  each  of  which  as  many  were  present  as  could  be 
accommodated.  Their  house  was  besieged  by  visitors,  and  often 
outside  in  the  street  there  was  a  concourse  of  anxious  inquirers. 
People  came  from  a  distance,  even  from  the  extreme  west  and 
south  of  America,  having  seen  the  accounts  given  of  me  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  previous  year.  It  was  here  that  one  of  the 
professors  of  the  University  of  Harvard  came  and  joined  some 
friends  in  a  rigid  investigation  of  the  phenomena,  and  after 
several  sittings  they  published  the  following  statement  of  the 
result  of  their  investigations. 


THE  MODERN  WONDER— A  MANIFESTO. 

The  undersigned,  from  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  parties  re- 
ferred to,  very  cordially  bear  testimony  to  the  occurrence  of  the 
following  facts,  which  we  severally  witnessed  at  the  house  of 
Rufus  Elmer,  in  Springfield,  on  the  evening  of  the  5th  inst. : — 

1.  The  table  was  moved  in  every  possible  direction,  and  with 
great  force,  when  we  could  not  perceive  any  cause  of  motion. 

2.  It  (the  table)  was  forced  against  each  one  of  us  so  power- 
fully as  to  move  us  from  our  positions — together  with  the  chairs 
we  occupied — in  all,  several  feet. 

3.  Mr.  Wells  and  Mr.  Edwards  took  hold  of  the  table  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  exert  their  strength  to  the  best  advantage, 
but  found  the  invisible  power,  exercised  in  an  opposite  direction, 
to  be  quite  equal  to  their  utmost  efforts. 

4.  In  two  instances,  at  least,  while  the  hands  of  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  circle  were  placed  on  the  top  of  the  table — and  while 
no  visible  power  was  employed  to  raise  the  table,  or  otherwise 
to  move  it  from  its  position — it  was  seen  to  rise  clear  of  the  floor, 
and  to  float  in  the  atmosphere  for  several  seconds,  as  if  sustained 
by  some  denser  medium  than  air. 

5.  Mr.  Wells  seated  himself  on  the  table,  which  was  rocked 


1 66  Book  of  Knowledge. 

for  some  time  with  great  violence,  and  at  length,  it  poised  itself 
on  the  two  legs,  and  remained  in  this  position  for  some  thirty 
seconds,  when  no  other  person  was  in  contact  with  it. 

6.  Three  persons — Messrs.  Wells,  Bliss,  and  Edwards — ^as- 
sumed positions  on  the  table  at  the  same  time,  and  while  thus 
seated,  the  table  was  moved  in  various  directions. 

7.  Occasionally  we  were  made  conscious  of  the  occurrence  of 
a  powerful  shock,  which  produced  a  vibratory  motion  of  the  floor 
of  the  apartment  in  which  we  were  seated — it  seemed  like  the 
motion  occasioned  by  distant  thunder  or  the  firing  of  ordnance 
far  away — causing  the  table,  chairs,  and  other  inanimate  objects, 
and  all  of  us  to  tremble  in  such  a  manner  that  the  effects  were 
both  seen  and  felt. 

8.  In  the  whole  exhibition,  which  was  far  more  diversified 
than  the  foregoing  specification  would  indicate,  we  were  con- 
strained to  admit  that  there  was  an  almost  constant  manifestation 
of  some  intelligence  which  seemed,  at  least,  to  be  independent  of 
the  circle. 

9.  In  conclusion,  we  may  observe,  that  Mr.  D.  D.  Home  fre- 
quently urged  us  to  hold  his  hands  and  feet.  During  these  occur- 
rences the  room  was  well  lighted,  the  lamp  was  frequently  placed 
on  and  under  the  table,  and  every  possible  opportunity  was 
afforded  us  for  the  closest  inspection,  and  we  admit  this  one  em- 
phatic declaration:  We  know  that  we  were  not  imposed  upon 
nor  deceived. 

Wm.  Bryant, 
B.  K.  Bliss, 
Wm.  Edwards, 
David  A.  Wells. 

The  following  account  also  is  given  in  the  Shekinah  of 
1852,  of  manifestations  occurring  at  this  time,  which  will  show 
the  power  which  they  had  then  acquired. 

"  On  the  28th  day  of  February,  1852,  while  the  undersigned 
were  assembled  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Rufus  Elmer,  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  for  the  purpose  of  making  critical  experiments  in 
the  so-called  spiritual  manifestations,  the  following,  among  other 
remarkable  demonstrations  of  power,  occurred  in  a  room  thor- 


Incidents  in  My  Life.  167 

oughly  illuminated.  The  table,  around  which  we  were  seated, 
was  moved  by  an  invisible  and  unknown  agency,  with  such  irre- 
sistible force  that  no  one  in  the  circle  could  hold  it.  Two  men — 
standing  on  opposite  sides  and  grasping  it  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  have  the  greatest  possible  advantage — 
could  not,  by  the  utmost  exercise  of  their  powers,  restrain  its 
motion.  In  spite  of  their  exertions,  the  table  was  moved  from 
one  of  three  feet.  Mr.  Elmer  inquired  if  the  spirits  could  dis- 
engage or  relax  the  hold  of  Mr.  Henry  Foulds ;  when  suddenly, 
and  in  a  manner  wholly  unaccountable  by  us,  Mr.  Foulds  was 
seated  on  the  floor  at  a  distance  of  several  feet  from  the  table, 
having  been  moved  so  gently,  and  yet  so  instantaneously,  as 
scarcely  to  be  conscious  of  the  fact.  It  was  proposed  to  further 
test  this  invisible  power,  and  accordingly  five  men,  whose  united 
weight  was  eight  hundred  and  fifty-five  pounds,  stood  on  a  table 
(without  castors),  and  the  table,  while  the  men  were  so  situated, 
was  repeatedly  moved  a  distance  of  from  four  to  eight  inches. 
The  undersigned  further  say  that  they  were  not  conscious  of 
exerting  any  power  of  will  at  the  time,  or  during  any  part  of  the 
exhibition ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  quite  sure  that  the  exercise 
of  the  will  is  a  serious  impediment  to  such  manifestations. 

"  At  the  close  of  these  experiments  it  was  perceived,  on  lifting 
one  end  of  the  table,  that  its  weight  would  increase  or  diminish, 
in  accordance  with  our  request.  Apprehending  that  the  supposed 
difference  might  be  justly  attributable  to  fancy,  or  to  some  un- 
conscious variation  in  the  manner  of  applying  the  motive  power, 
it  was  proposed  to  settle  the  question  by  weighing  the  table.  At 
the  first  experiment  it  required  a  force  equal  to  nineteen  pounds 
to  raise  the  end  of  the  table.  This  was  fairly  tested  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  all  present.  The  spirits  were  then  requested 
to  apply  the  invisible  power.  The  balance  was  now  applied  in 
precisely  the  same  manner  as  before,  when  the  weight  was  found 
to  have  been  suddenly  increased  from  six  to  twelve  pounds,  vary- 
ing as  the  mysterious  force  was  increased  and  diminished,  so 
that  it  now  required  a  force  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-one 
pounds  to  separate  the  legs  of  the  table  from  the  floor.  Mr. 
Daniel  D.  Home  was  the  medium  on  this  occasion,  and  it  is 
worthy  to  remark  that  during  the  performance  of  the  last  ex- 


1 68  Book  of  Knowledge. 

periment  he  was  out  of  the  room  and  in  the  second  story  of 
the  house,  while  the  experiment  was  conducted  in  the  back  par- 
lor below. 

"  The  undersigned  are  ready  and  willing,  if  required,  to  make 
oath  to  the  entire  correctness  of  the  foregoing  statement." 

The  original  paper  was  signed  by  John  D.  Lord,  Rufus 
Elmer,  and  nine  others,  living  at  Springfield,  Mass. 

The  account  proceeds :  "  Lights  are  produced  in  dark  rooms. 
Sometimes  there  appears  a  gradual  illumination,  sufficient  to  dis- 
close very  minute  objects,  and  at  others  a  tremulous  phosphores- 
cent light  gleams  over  the  walls,  and  odic  emanations  proceed 
from  human  bodies,  or  shoot  meteor-like  through  the  apartment. 
These  phenomena  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  are  not  ac- 
counted for  by  any  material  hypothesis,  unless,  indeed,  they  could 
be  comprehended  under  the  popular  generalization  which  ascribes 
the  whole  to  human  fraud  and  delusion.  I  have  seen  these  lights 
in  all  their  variety.  On  one  occasion,  when  a  number  of  friends 
were  assembled  at  my  house,  there  occurred  a  gradual  illumina- 
tion of  the  apartment.  It  appeared  like  the  twilight  half  an  hour 
after  the  dawn.  The  light  continued  to  increase  for  about  fifteen 
minutes,  and  then  it  gradually  diminished. 

"  On  the  30th  of  March  I  chanced  to  be  one  of  the  company 
convened  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Elmer,  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  Mr. 
Home  being  present,  when  the  room  was  darkened,  to  see  if  the 
mysterious  illumination  would  occur.  Immediately  the  gross 
darkness  began  to  be  dissipated,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  forms 
of  all  the  persons  in  the  room  were  distinctly  visible.  Without 
disclosing  her  purpose  to  any  one,  Mrs.  Elmer  mentally  requested 
that  the  spirits  would  restore  the  darkness,  and  almost  instantly 
the  change  was  perceived  by  the  whole  company,  and  soon  every 
form  was  lost  in  the  deepening  gloom." 

This  was  the  first  appearance  of  these  spirit  lights  that  I 
had  seen  when  others  were  present,  though  I  had  several  times 
seen  them  when  by  myself,  since  their  appearance  on  my  first 
vision  of  Edwin  as  before  described. 


CHAPTER    VIL 
WAS  LINCOLN  A  SPIRITUALIST? 

(from    the   book   by    MRS.    NETTIE    MAYNARD.) 

About  half-past  eigfht  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  this  day  I 
was  lying  exhausted  on  the  sofa  when  a  carriage  halted  at  the 
door.  Mr.  Laurie  entered  hurriedly,  asking  if  the  *'  children  " 
had  gone  (Parnie  and  myself).  Mr.  Foster  explained  that  we 
were  still  there,  and  the  reason  therefor.  Mr.  Laurie  seemed 
delighted  that  we  had  been  delayed,  and  came  at  once  to  my 
side  and  kindly  said,  "  Get  ready  at  once  and  go  to  my  house 
with  me,  and  I  think  we  can  remedy  the  loss  of  this  furlough." 
It  was  a  ray  of  light  in  dense  darkness.  Without  saying  a  word 
I  hastily  prepared  myself  and  was  surprised  to  find  a  most 
elegant  carriage  at  the  door  to  receive  us.  Its  crimson  satin 
cushions  should  have  told  me  whose  carriage  it  was ;  but  my 
mind  was  so  fraught  with  my  trouble  that  I  barely  noticed  the 
fact  that  a  footman  in  plain  livery  opened  the  door  for  us,  and 
we  were  soon  on  our  way  to  Georgetown.  On  my  arrival  I 
was  astonished  at  first  to  be  presented  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  the  wife 
of  President  Lincoln,  then  to  Mr.  Newton,  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior Department,  and  the  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  at  that  time 
one  of  the  chief  clerks  in  the  Treasury  Building.  The  Hon.  D. 
E.  Somes  was  also  present.  Mrs.  Lincoln  informed  me  that 
she  had  heard  of  the  wonderful  powers  of  Mrs.  Miller,  Mr. 
Laurie's  daughter,  and  had  called  to  witness  the  physical  mani- 
festations through  her  mediumship.  She  had  expressed  a  desire 
to  see  a  trance  medium,  when  they  had  told  her  of  myself,  fear- 
ing that  I  was  already  on  my  way  to  Boston  with  my  brother, 
as  I  expected  to  leave  that  evening.  She  had  said  at  once, 
"  Perhaps  they  have  not  gone ;  suppose  you  take  the  carriage 
and  ascertain."  Mr.  Laurie  went  and  found  me,  as  I  have 
stated,  prostrated  from  my  long  anxiety  and  trouble.     But  for 


170  .  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  loss  of  that  furlough  this  meeting  would  not  have  taken  place. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  noticed  my  swollen  eyes  and  inflamed  cheeks,  and 
kindly  inquired  the  cause.  Mr.  Laurie  briefly  explained.  She 
quickly  reassured  me,  saying,  "  Don't  worry  any  more  about  it. 
Your  brother  shall  have  another  furlough  if  Mr.  Lincoln  has 
to  give  it  himself."  Feeling  once  more  happy  and  strong,  I 
was  in  a  condition  to  quiet  my  nerves  long  enough  to  enable 
my  spirit  friends  to  control  me.  Some  new  and  powerful  in- 
fluence obtained  possession  of  my  organism  and  addressed  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  it  seemed,  with  great  clearness  and  force,  upon  matters 
of  state.  For  one  hour  I  was  under  this  control.  When  I 
awoke  there  was  a  most  earnest  and  excited  group  around  me, 
discussing  what  had  been  said,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  exclaimed  with 
great  earnestness,  "  This  young  lady  must  not  leave  Washing- 
ton. I  feel  she  must  stay  here,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  must  hear  what 
we  have  heard.  It  is  all-important,  and  he  must  hear  it."  This 
seemed  to  be  the  general  impression.  Turning  to  me  she  said, 
"  Don't  think  of  leaving  Washington,  I  beg  of  you.  Can  you 
not  remain  with  us  ?  "  I  briefly  explained  that  my  livelihood 
depended  on  my  efforts  as  a  speaker,  and  that  there  was  no 
opening  in  Washington  of  that  kind  for  me.  "  But,"  said  she, 
"  there  are  other  things  you  can  do.  Surely  young  ladies  get 
excellent  pay  in  the  different  departments,  and  you  can  have  a 
position  in  one  of  them,  I  am  sure.  Turning  to  Mr.  Newton, 
who  sat  at  her  right,  she  said,  "  You  employ  ladies,  do  you  not, 
Mr.  Newton ;  and  you  can  give  this  young  lady  a  place  in  your 
department  ?  "  He  bowed,  all  smiles,  saying,  "  I  have  only  very 
old  ladies  or  young  children  in  my  department ;  but  I  can  give 
this  young  lady  a  position  if  it  pleases  you."  She  turned  to  me 
then  in  her  sprightly  manner,  as  if  the  whole  thing  was  settled, 
and  exclaimed,  "  You  will  stay  then,  will  you  not  ?  "  I  said  I 
would  consult  my  friends  and  see  what  was  best.  But  she  said, 
"  You  surely  will  not  go  until  Mr.  Lincoln  has  had  a  chance  to 
see  you?  "  I  replied  I  would  not  if  he  had  a  desire  to  see  me. 
She  then  turned  to  Mrs.  Laurie  and  said,  "  Now  to-morrow  you 
go  with  this  young  lady  to  Mr.  Tucker ;  tell  him  you  go  by  my 
direction,  and  just  how  the  case  stands.  Tell  him  he  must 
arrange  it  to  have  her  brother  secure  another  furlough."   Soon 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  171 

after  she  left  and  Mr.  Somes  kindly  escorted  me  back  to  Mr. 
Foster's. 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Laurie  came  for  me  and  we  went  to 
the  office  of  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  War.  I  hid  as  closely 
as  possible  behind  the  stately  person  of  Mrs.  Laurie;  but  my 
old  friend  saw  me  and  came  forward  to  inquire  how  I  was,  and 
if  all  was  well  with  my  brother.  I  could  only  shake  my  head 
and  sink  into  a  chair,  leaving  Mrs.  Laurie  to  explain  matters. 
He  listened  patiently,  and  came  to  me  and  said  in  the  kindliest 
manner,  "  You  seem  to  have  been  delayed  for  some  important 
purpose,  my  young  friend,  so  I  would  not  be  over-troubled 
about  it.  You  get  any  commissioned  or  United  States  surgeon 
to  examine  your  brother  again,  and  if  he  affirms  he  is  still  un- 
fit for  service  in  the  field  or  camp  I  will  issue  a  new  furlough  if 
you  bring  me  the  paper."  With  a  light  heart  I  could  only  thank 
him;  and  that  afternoon  my  brother  and  myself  went  to  Mr. 
Laurie's,  and  in  a  few  hours  a  United  States  surgeon  from  the 
Georgetown  Hospital  made  the  requisite  examination  and  rec- 
ommended him  a  furlough.  The  next  morning  I  carried  it  to  Mr. 
Tucker  and  a  furlough  was  reissued  by  the  War  Department — 
this  time  for  thirty  days'  leave  of  absence.  With  a  light  heart 
I  went  to  my  brother  with  the  paper ;  and  that  night  Mr.  Laurie, 
on  his  return  from  the  Post  Office  Department,  placed  in  my 
hand  an  envelope,  which,  I  was  surprised  to  find,  contained  one 
hundred  dollars  in  greenbacks,  and  a  slip  of  paper  on  which 
was  written,  "From  a  few  friends  who  appreciate  a  sister's  devo- 
tion." No  name  anywhere  to  tell  who  were  the  generous 
donors ;  and  I  know  not  to  this  day  whence  came  this  most  wel- 
come tribute. 

The  friends  I  had  made  in  Washington  were  determined  I 
should  not  leave  that  city,  and  it  was  decided  that  my  brother 
should  take  my  mother  back  to  Hartford  with  him,  with  all 
her  household  effects;  that  I  should  resign  my  position  in  Al- 
bany, and  that  my  friend.  Miss  Hannum,  should  join  me  in 
Washington.    This  programme  was  carried  out. 

The  day  following  my  brother's  departure  for  home  a  note 
was  received  by  Mrs.  Laurie,  asking  her  to  come  to  the  White 
House  in  the  evening  with  her  family,  and  to  bring  Miss  Nettie 


iy2  Book  of  Knowledge. 

with  her.  I  felt  all  the  natural  trepidation  of  a  young  girl  about 
to  enter  the  presence  of  the  highest  magistrate  in  our  land; 
being  fully  impressed  with  the  dignity  of  his  office,  and  feeling 
that  I  was  about  to  meet  some  superior  being ;  and  it  was  almost 
with  trembling  that  I  entered  with  my  friends  the  Red  Parlor 
of  the  White  House  at  eight  o'clock  that  evening  (December, 
1862). 

Mrs.  Lincoln  received  us  graciously,  and  introduced  us  to  a 
gentleman  and  lady  present  whose  names  I  have  forgotten. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  then  present.  While  all  were  conversing 
pleasantly  on  general  subjects,  Mrs.  Miller  (Mr.  Laurie's 
daughter)  seated  herself,  under  control,  at  the  double  grand 
piano  at  one  side  of  the  room,  seemingly  awaiting  some  one. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  talking  with  us  in  a  pleasant  strain  when  sud- 
denly Mrs.  Miller's  hands  fell  upon  the  keys  with  a  force  that 
betokened  a  master  hand,  and  the  strains  of  a  grand  march  filled 
the  room.  As  the  measured  notes  rose  and  fell  we  became 
silent.  The  heavy  end  of  the  piano  began  rising  and  falling  in 
perfect  time  to  the  music.  All  at  once  it  ceased,  and  Mr.  Lin- 
coln stood  upon  the  threshold  of  the  door.  (He  afterwards  in- 
formed us  that  the  first  notes  of  the  music  fell  upon  his  ear 
as  he  reached  the  grand  staircase  to  descend,  and  that  he  kept 
step  to  the  music  until  he  reached  the  doorway.)  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Laurie  and  Mrs.  Miller  were  duly  presented.  Then  I  was  led 
forward  and  introduced.  He  stood  before  me  tall  and  kindly, 
with  a  smile  upon  his  face.  Dropping  his  hand  upon  my  head, 
he  said,  in  a  humorous  tone,  '*  So  this  is  our  '  little  Nettie,'  is  it, 
that  we  have  heard  so  much  about  ?  "  I  could  only  smile  and 
say,  "  Yes,  sir,"  like  any  schoolgirl ;  when  he  kindly  led  me  to  an 
ottoman.  Sitting  down  on  a  chair,  the  ottoman  at  his  feet, 
he  began  asking  me  questions  in  a  kindly  way  about  my 
mediumship;  and  I  think  he  must  have  thought  me  stupid,  as 
my  answers  were  little  beyond  a  "  Yes,"  and  "  No."  His  man- 
ner was  however  genial  and  kind,  and  it  was  then  suggested  we 
form  a  circle.  He  said,  ''  Well,  how  do  you  do  it?  "  looking  at 
me.  Mr.  Laurie  came  to  the  rescue  and  said  we  had  been  ac- 
customed to  sit  in  a  circle  and  join  hands ;  but  he  did  not  think 
it  would  be  necessary  in  this  instance.     While  he  was  yet  speak- 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  173 

ing  I  lost  all  consciousness  of  my  surroundings,  and  passed 
under  control.  For  more  than  an  hour  I  was  made  to  talk  to 
him,  and  I  learned  from  my  friends  afterward  that  it  was  upon 
matters  that  he  seemed  to  fully  understand,  while  they  compre- 
hended very  little  until  that  portion  was  reached  that  related 
to  the  forthcoming  Emancipation  Proclamation.  He  was 
charged  with  the  utmost  solemnity  and  force  of  manner  not 
to  abate  the  terms  of  its  issue,  and  not  to  delay  its  enforcement 
as  a  law  beyond  the  opening  of  the  year;  and  he  was  assured 
that  it  was  to  be  the  crowning  event  of  his  administration  and 
his  life;  and  that  while  he  was  being  counseled  by  strong  parties 
to  defer  the  enforcement  of  it,  hoping  to  supplant  it  by  other 
measures  and  to  delay  action,  he  must  in  no  wise  heed  such 
counsel,  but  stand  firm  to  his  convictions  and  fearlessly  perform 
the  work  and  fulfil  the  mission  for  which  he  had  been  raised 
up  by  an  over-ruling  Providence.  Those  present  declared  that 
they  lost  sight  of  the  timid  girl  in  the  majesty  of  the  utterance, 
the  strength  and  force  of  the  language,  and  the  importance  of 
that  which  was  conveyed,  and  seemed  to  realize  that  some 
strong  masculine  spirit  force  was  giving  speech  to  almost  divine 
commands. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  scene  around  me  when  I  regained 
consciousness.  I  was  standing  in  front  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  he 
was  sitting  back  in  his  chair,  with  his  arms  folded  upon  his 
breast,  looking  intently  at  me.  I  stepped  back,  naturally  con- 
fused at  the  situation — not  remembering  at  once  where  I  was — 
and  glancing  around  the  group  where  perfect  silence  reigned. 
It  took  me  a  moment  to  remember  my  whereabouts. 

A  gentleman  present  then  said  in  a  low  tone,  "  Mr.  Lincoln, 
did  you  not  notice  anything  peculiar  in  the  method  of  address  ?  " 
Mr.  Lincoln  raised  himself  as  if  shaking  ofif  his  spell.  He 
glanced  quickly  at  the  full  length  portrait  of  Daniel  Webster 
that  hung  above  the  piano  and  replied,  "  Yes,  and  it  is  very  sin- 
gular, very !  "  with  a  marked  emphasis. 

Mr.  Somes  said :  "  Mr.  President,  would  it  be  improper  for 
me  to  inquire  whether  there  has  been  any  pressure  brought  to 
bear  upon  you  to  defer  the  enforcement  of  the  Proclamation  ?  " 
To  which  the  President  replied:  ''Under  these  circumstances, 


174  Book  of  Knowledge, 

that  question  is  perfectly  proper,  as  we  are  all  friends  (smiling 
upon  the  company).  It  is  taking  all  my  nerve  and  strength  to 
withstand  such  a  pressure."  At  this  point  the  gentlemen  drew 
around  him  and  spoke  together  in  low  tones,  Mr.  Lincoln  saying 
least  of  all.  At  last  he  turned  to  me,  and  laying  his  hand  upon 
my  head,  uttered  these  words  in  a  manner  that  I  shall  never 
forget :  "  My  child,  you  possess  a  very  singular  gift ;  but  that  it 
is  of  God  I  have  no  doubt.  I  thank  you  for  coming  here  to- 
night. It  is  more  important  than  perhaps  any  one  present  can 
understand.  I  must  leave  you  all  now;  but  I  hope  I  shall  see 
you  again."  He  shook  me  kindly  by  the  hand,  bowed  to  the 
rest  of  the  company  and  was  gone.  We  remained  an  hour 
longer  talking  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  friends,  and  then 
returned  to  Georgetown.  Such  was  my  first  interview  with 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the  memory  of  it  is  as  clear  and  vivid  as 
the  evening  on  which  it  occurred. 


I  looked  up  and  did  not  need  to  know  by  any  one  telling 
me  who  he  was.     Lincoln  stood  at  the  open  window. 

He  was  looking  down,  yet  seeing  nothing.  His  eyes  were 
turned  inward.  He  was  thinking  of  the  great  work  and  duty 
that  lay  upon  his  soul.  I  think  I  never  saw  so  sad  a  face  in 
my  life,  and  I  have  looked  into  many  a  mourner's  face.  I  have 
been  among  bereaved  families,  orphan  children,  widows,  and 
strong  men  whose  hearts  have  been  broken  by  the  taking  away 
of  their  own ;  but  I  never  saw  the  depth  of  sorrow  which  seemed 
to  rest  upon  that  gaunt  but  expressive  countenance.  Yet  there 
was  a  light  in  those  deep  sunk  eyes  that  showed  the  man  that 
was  before  me  as  perhaps  the  best  Christian  the  world  ever 
saw,  for  he  wore  the  world  upon  his  heart.  That  man  was 
bearing  the  country  of  his  birth  and  love  upon  his  naked  soul. 
It  was  just  one  look,  but  I  have  never  forgotten  it,  and  through 
the  dimness  of  all  these  years  that  great  and  patient  man  looks 
down  upon  me  to  teach  me  how  to  bear,  and  how  to  do,  how  to 
hope  and  how  to  give  myself  for  my  fellowmen. 

Lincoln  was  a  noble  representative  of  free  institutions.  He 
stood  as  a  representative  of  that  liberty  which  had  been  won  by 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  175 

the  swords  of  the  Revolution,  which  had  been  organized  by 
the  early  settlers  of  the  Republic,  and  which  has  been  adorned 
by  many  years  of  growth  until  the  present  day.  The  Revolu- 
tion had  passed  before  Lincoln's  day;  but  he  was  a  typical 
representative  of  the  freedom  of  heart  and  soul  and  life  which 
ought  to  be  the  most  priceless  inheritance  of  every  American 
citizen.  I  think  this  was  evinced  in  his  whole  course  and  con- 
duct.    He  was  surrounded  by  able  men. 

The  sword  and  the  pen  both  had  their  heroes ;  but  before  this 
man  every  one  chose  to  pause,  and  his  choice  was  always  the 
wisest  of  all.  I  do  not  know  what  Lincoln  would  have  done 
without  support;  but  through  all  troubles  the  individuality  of 
that  one  man,  his  unflinching  courage,  his  broad  sympathy  and 
charity,  his  homely  common  sense,  his  indomitable  rectitude 
and  unshaken  faith  ran  like  a  pulse  of  fire,  a  thread  of  gold. 

You  may  speak  of  the  arch  of  honor  which  spans  those  years 
of  struggle.  You  may  write  the  names  of  great  generals,  ad- 
mirals, statesmen.  Senators  and  Governors  upon  separate 
stones.  But  on  that  one  stone  which  bound  them  together, 
without  which  the  arch  would  have  fallen  into  ruin  and  con- 
fusion, you  must  write  Lincoln's  name. 

I  mention  a  third  thing  for  which  Lincoln  was  great.  We 
have  had  great  men  who  were  as  cold  as  the  marble  in  which 
their  statues  have  been  cast.  We  have  had  men  who  have  had 
no  more  warm  blood  in  their  hearts  than  the  bronze  tablets 
upon  their  tombs.  We  have  had  great  statesmen,  great  war- 
riors, great  philosophers,  great  men  of  letters,  all  of  them  cold 
as  icebergs,  with  no  popular  sympathies,  no  real  tenderness,  no 
heart  beneath  their  garments. 

We  have  had  men  placed  as  Lincoln  was,  who  had  calmly 
written  out  his  same  gigantic  campaign  and  could  accept  death, 
peril,  or  disgrace,  as  well  as  honor,  in  the  same  calm  impas- 
sibility with  which  you  might  move  the  knight  or  the  bishop 
from  one  square  on  the  chessboard  to  another.  We  have  had 
men  who  left  behind  them  mighty  names,  and  not  one  child 
sobbed  when  they  were  gone.  But  not  a  dry  eye  appeared  amid 
thousands  of  children  when  the  splendid  heroic  Lincoln,  with  his 
wisdom,  sagacity  and  patriotism,  was  taken  away.    He  carried 


176  Book  of  Knowledge. 

a  tender  heart,  the  heart  of  a  Httle  child,  the  heart  of  a  woman 
who  has  given  her  promise  to  the  man  she  loves. 

Back  of  that  rough  angular  form  and  seemingly  uncouth 
demeanor  there  lay  a  heart  as  white  as  snow,  and  so  dropping 
with  the  love  of  humanity  that,  if  I  were  to  take  out  of  one  of 
those  Christian  centuries  the  heart  of  the  one  whom  I  believed 
to  be  the  most  loving,  the  most  tender,  I  would  take  it  from  the 
breast  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

What  soldier  in  his  standing  army,  bleeding  and  with  dusty 
feet,  could  enter  the  chamber  of  any  other  ruler  in  this  world 
and  plead  his  cause  as  to  a  friend?  What  woman,  tearful  be- 
cause her  son  was  in  peril  when  a  stroke  of  the  President's  hand 
would  set  him  free,  could  anywhere  else  force  her  way  to  him 
through  lines  of  Senators,  and  then  receive  consolation?  What 
man  within  the  memory  of  men  has  ruled  without  jealousy  and 
fanaticism,  and  to  whom  every  man  in  the  land  could  turn  in 
thought,  in  hope,  in  prayer,  as  to  a  patient  or  never-failing 
friend?  Was  there  ever  a  leader  of  the  American  people  who 
got  so  near  the  heart  of  his  generation  as  did  Abraham  Lincoln? 
And  perhaps  with  all  his  greatness,  this  is  one  of  his  greatest 
charms  to  immortal  memory.  The  warrior  dies;  the  honored 
philosopher  fades  away  with  the  changes  of  time ;  the  scientific 
man  is  blotted  out  by  the  record  of  successive  thought;  the 
poet's  sweetest  lays  may  be  folded  away  like  a  garment  to  put 
some  newer  or  better  one  in  its  place ;  but  the  love  of  the  human 
heart  is  the  one  enduring  thing  in  this  world  of  ours,  and  where 
all  these  things  will  pass  away,  the  man  who  is  a  lover  of  his 
country,  who  is  a  lover  of  his  native  land,  is  the  man  whose  im- 
mortality is  best  secured,  and  that  man  was  Abraham  Lincoln. 

I  can  say  nothing  in  this  brief  review  of  his  great  work,  the 
emancipation  of  the  slave,  except  to  say  that  that  patience,  wis- 
dom, and  infalHble  instinct  as  to  the  right  time  of  doing  any- 
thing is  illustrated  in  this,  perhaps,  as  in  no  other  single  incident 
of  his  great  career.  And  when  I  come  to  one  eflfort  it  seems 
to  me  I  wanted  to  lay  my  fingers  on  my  lips  and  never  speak 
another  word.  When  he  climbed  that  height  at  Gettysburg, 
and  stood  on  the  scene  of  the  terrible  conflict,  on  that  ground 
made  sacred  with  the  bodies  of  our  patriot  soldiers,  the  elo- 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  177 

quence  of  his  lips,  the  impressiveness  of  his  mien,  and  the  words 
uttered  by  his  heart  through  his  tongue,  made  that  oration 
which,  in  the  history  of  American  eloquence,  was  the  greatest 
effort  of  the  noblest  American,  upon  the  noblest  occasion  in  the 
history  of  mankind. 

In  the  old  days  every  cathedral  had  its  chime  of  bells.  A 
new  bell  had  to  be  cast,  and  it  had  to  be  strung  up  far  into 
the  tower  to  exorcise  the  demons  and  call  the  people  to  morn- 
ing worship.  The  bell  was  in  process  of  casting  in  the  mould, 
and  there  were  joy  and  gladness.  Priests  brought  the  crucibles 
and  bronze  articles  to  the  mould,  and  the  molten  metal  began  to 
make  its  way  toward  the  great  hole  in  which  the  cast  was  being 
prepared.  Suddenly  the  great  gathering  was  swayed  with  some 
sudden  emotion.  There  was  a  danger  of  the  failure  of  the  cast 
through  insufficient  metal.  The  cry  was,  "  What  shall  be 
done  ? "  It  was  soon  decided.  Everyone  gave  something, 
some  article  of  value  to  cast  into  the  seething  pot.  Women  tore 
oflf  their  bracelets.  Others  ran  and  brought  silver  vessels ; 
priests  brought  the  appurtenances  of  the  sanctuary  and  flung 
them  into  the  seething,  boiling  furnace ;  and  at  last  there  was 
sufficient.  It  cooled  and  was  swung  into  the  tower,  and  there 
never  was  a  sweeter-toned  bell  in  all  the  world,  and  the  sacri- 
fices which  had  been  made  in  flinging  the  treasure  into  the  bell 
made  its  notes  those  of  silver  and  gold  as  they  rang  out  in  the 
sweet  morning  air.  The  old  bell  that  proclaimed  liberty  in 
Philadelphia  is  a  useless  bell  to-day.  We  have  done  the  casting 
all  these  years  of  that  bell  of  liberty  which  is  to  be  rung  in  the 
ages  to  come,  high  up  above  the  people,  and  the  sound  of  the 
nations  and  the  war  and  the  peace  of  the  world. 

We  hope  and  pause  when  the  golden  bell  is  rung,  and  we 
seem  to  hear  its  silver  chiming  as  it  calls  to  prayer.  We  hear 
its  deeper  notes  when  it  warns  us  with  its  significant  alarm  and 
joyous  clang  that  it  is  positively  above  us.  How  sweet  is  that 
bell  of  Hberty!  Let  us  not  forget  that  what  makes  it  sweet  is 
because  men  have  cast  sacrifices  for  the  golden  hope  of  man- 
hood and  life.  Let  us  not  forget  that  if  it  rings  so  sweetly  and 
is  to  ring  forever  in  the  name  of  liberty,  some  of  that  sweetness 
comes  from  Abraham  Lincoln;  for  when  that  bell  was  in  the 


178  Book  of  Knowledge. 

molten  furnace  of  war  and  the  crucible  of  trial,  there  was  cast 
into  it  the  pure  gold  of  his  manly  life. 

Rev.  E.  C.  Bolles,  at  Lafayette  Camp. 


A    TEST    SEANCE. 
{From  Chapter  XV IL) 

There  was  another  meeting  with  Mr.  Lincoln  which  is  inter- 
esting and  of  considerable  value.  Shortly  after  my  return  to 
Washington,  and  while  visiting  Major  Chorpenning  one  even- 
ing, Mr.  Somes  called.  After  an  exchange  of  compliments,  he 
stated  that  he  had  been  requested  to  attend  a  seance,  and  as  the 
same  was  of  a  private  character,  he  was  not  at  liberty  to  say 
more.  We  all  suspected  the  truth,  however,  and  I  instantly 
made  ready  to  join  him.  After  entering  the  carriage  provided 
for  the  occasion,  he  informed  us  that  our  destination  was  the 
White  House,  explaining  that  while  at  the  War  Department 
that  afternoon  he  had  met  Mr.  Lincoln  coming  from  Secretary 
Stanton's  office.  Mr.  Somes  bowed  to  the  President,  and  was 
passing  onward  when  Mr.  Lincoln  stopped  him,  asking  whether 
Miss  Colburn  was  still  in  the  city,  and  if  so  whether  it  were 
possible  to  have  her  visit  the  White  House  that  evening.  Upon 
the  reply  in  the  affirmative  to  both  questions,  Mr.  Lincoln  re- 
marked, "  Please  bring  her  to  the  White  House  at  eight  or 
nine  o'clock,  but  consider  the  matter  confidential."  By  the  time 
Mr.  Somes  had  completed  his  recital  we  were  at  the  door  of 
that  historic  mansion,  and  a  servant  who  was  evidently  on  the 
watch  for  us  quickly  opened  the  door,  and  we  hurried  upstairs 
to  the  executive  chamber  where  Mr.  Lincoln  and  two  gentle- 
men were  awaiting  our  coming.  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  an  order  to 
the  servant  and  in  a  moment  Mrs.  Lincoln  entered.  I  am 
satisfied  from  what  followed  that  she  was  summoned  on  my 
account  to  place  me  more  at  ease  than  otherwise,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, would  have  been  the  case.  Mr.  Lincoln  then 
quietly  stated  that  he  wished  me  to  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  witness  something  of  my  "  rare  gift,"  as  he  called  it,  adding, 
"  You  need  not  be  afraid,  as  these  friends  have  seen  something 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  179 

of  this  before."  The  two  gentlemen  referred  to  were  evidently 
military  officers,  as  was  indicated  by  the  stripe  upon  their  panta- 
loons, although  their  frock  coats,  buttoned  to  the  chin,  effectu- 
ally concealed  any  insignia  or  mark  of  rank.  One  of  these 
gentlemen  was  quite  tall  and  heavily  built,  with  auburn  hair 
and  dark  eyes,  side  whiskers,  and  of  decidedly  military  bearing. 
The  other  gentleman  was  of  average  height,  and  I  somehow 
received  the  impression  that  he  was  lower  in  rank  than  his 
companion.  He  had  light  brown  hair  and  blue  eyes,  was  quick 
in  manner,  but  deferential  towards  his  friend,  whose  confirma- 
tion he  involuntarily  sought  or  indicated  by  his  look  of  half 
appeal  while  the  conversation  went  on. 

We  sat  quiet  for  a  few  minutes  before  I  became  entranced. 
One  hour  later  I  became  conscious  of  my  surroundings,  and 
was  standing  by  a  long  table,  upon  which  was  a  large  map  of 
the  Southern  States.  In  my  hand  was  a  lead  pencil,  and  the 
tall  man  with  Mr.  Lincoln  was  standing  beside  me  and  bending 
over  the  map,  while  the  younger  man  was  standing  on  the  other 
side  of  the  table,  looking  curiously  and  intently  at  me.  Some- 
what embarrassed,  I  glanced  around  to  note  Mrs.  Lincoln 
quietly  conversing  in  another  part  of  the  room.  The  only  re- 
marks I  heard  were  these :  "  It  is  astonishing,"  said  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, "  how  every  line  she  has  drawn  conforms  to  the  plan 
agreed  upon."  "  Yes,"  answered  the  older  soldier,  "  it  is  very 
astonishing."  Looking  up  they  both  saw  that  I  was  awake, 
and  they  instantly  stepped  back,  while  Mr.  Lincoln  took  the 
pencil  from  my  hand  and  placed  a  chair  for  me. 

Then  Madam  and  Mr.  Somes  at  once  joined  us,  Mr.  Somes 
asking,  "  Well,  was  everything  satisfactory  ?  "  "  Perfectly," 
responded  Mr.  Lincoln.  "  Miss  Nettie  does  not  seem  to  require 
eyes  to  do  anything,"  smiling  pleasantly.  The  conversation 
then  turned,  designedly,  I  felt,  to  commonplace  matters. 

Shortly  afterwards,  when  about  leaving,  Mr.  Lincoln  said  to 
us  in  a  low  voice,  "  It  is  best  not  to  mention  this  meeting  at 
present."  Assuring  him  of  silence  upon  the  question,  we  were 
soon  again  on  our  way  to  the  Major's. 

Mr.  Somes  informed  me  that  he  heard  enough  in  the  open- 
ing remarks  of  the  spirit  to  convince  him  that  the  power  con- 


i8o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

trolling  knew  why  I  had  been  summoned.  He  said  that  I  walked 
to  the  table  unaided  and  requested  that  a  pencil  be  handed  me, 
after  which  the  President  requested  Mr.  Somes  and  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln to  remain  where  they  were  at  the  end  of  the  room.  "  In 
accordance  with  this  request,"  said  Mr.  Somes,  "  we  paid  no 
attention  to  what  was  being  said  or  done  further  than  to  notice 
you  tracing  lines  upon  the  map,  and  once  one  of  the  gentlemen 
resharpened  the  pencil  for  you."  I  never  knew  the  purport  of 
this  meeting,  nor  can  I  say  that  Mr.  Somes  heard  more  of  this 
strange  afifair.  That  it  was  important  may  be  supposed,  for 
those  were  not  days  for  the  indulgence  of  idle  curiosity  in  any 
direction,  nor  was  Mr.  Lincoln  a  man  to  waste  his  time  in  giving 
exhibitions  in  occult  science  for  the  amusement  of  his  friends. 
The  impressions  left  upon  my  mind  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
gratifying,  in  finding  myself  the  recipient  of  such  unusual  atten- 
tions, and,  for  the  occasion,  the  central  figure  in  what  appeared 
to  be  a  mysterious  and  momentous  consultation.  Had  it  been 
simply  an  experiment  to  test  my  mediumship,  Mr.  Somes  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln  would  have  been  included  in  the  group  that 
gathered  around  the  table.  Should  the  two  stranger  partici- 
pants in  that  seance  be  now  living,  and  by  any  chance  these  lines 
should  be  read  by  them,  they  will  readily  recall  the  scene,  and 
fully  recognize  the  incident  from  the  remarks  that  were  uttered 
at  the  time.  I  am  confident  that  my  services  were  appreciated, 
and  that  the  spiritual  guidance  which  found  utterance  through 
my  lips  was  confirmatory  of  the  plans  which  they  had  already 
prepared.  As  in  this  instance,  so  in  many  others,  has  this 
powerful  aid  been  called  upon  and  used  to  advantage,  to  further 
important  and  national  interests,  and  accomplish  results  that 
simple  human  knowledge  could  not  achieve. 

Mr.  Lincoln's  fancy  for  poetry  and  song  inclined  towards 
those  melodies  which  appealed  to  his  emotional  nature,  as  is 
illustrated  by  his  keen  appreciation  of  Mrs.  Laurie's  "  Bonnie 
Doon,"  and  his  favorite  poem,  "  Why  Should  the  Spirit  of  Mor- 
tal be  Proud  ?  "  I  remember  hearing  him  refer  to  the  touching 
poem  upon  an  occasion  of  peculiar  interest,  at  which  time  he 
recited  a  part  of  it,  applying  the  verses  to  the  occasion  in  a  very 
pleasant  and  happy  manner.  This  incident  is  worthy  of  appear- 
ing in  print : 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  i8i 

One  morning  in  January,  1863,  Mrs.  Laurie  desired  me  to 
go  to  the  White  House  and  inquire  after  Mrs.  Lincoln's  health. 
Mrs.  Laurie  had  visited  Mrs.  Lincoln  the  previous  day  and 
found  her  prostrated  by  one  of  her  severe  headaches.  It  was 
about  eleven  o'clock  when  I  called.  Upon  sending  up  my  name 
and  inquiry  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  I  was  requested  to  walk  upstairs  to 
her  room,  where  I  found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  a  gentleman 
and  two  ladies.  I  was  cordially  received  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln and  presented  to  the  guests,  whose  names  were  not  men- 
tioned, and  when  I  noticed  their  glances  I  knew  that  they  had 
been  told  /  was  a  "  medium."  After  explaining  my  errand  and 
being  about  to  withdraw,  Mrs.  Lincoln  asked  whether  I  felt 
equal  to  the  task  of  a  seance.  Noticing  that  all  were  expectant, 
I  signified  my  willingness  and  reseated  myself. 

After  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  assisted  me  to  remove  my  wraps 
she  requested  that  the  friends  present  do  the  same.  They  de- 
clined, whereupon  the  gentleman,  who  was  their  escort,  laugh- 
ingly remarked,  as  he  indicated  the  lady  nearest  him,  "  It  is  use- 
less to  urge  Anna,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  for  she  thinks  she  looks  better 
in  her  new  bonnet."  To  which  Anna  repHed,  "  That  she  be- 
lieved she  did,  and  felt  very  proud  of  it."  Mr.  Lincoln  who  was 
seated,  raised  his  hands  with  a  comical  gesture,  and  quoted  a 
part  of  his  favorite  poem,  "  Why  Should  the  Spirit  of  Mortal 
be  Proud  ?  "  The  gentleman  said,  "  You  are  familiar  with  that 
poem."  To  which  the  President  replied,  "  Perfectly ;  it  is  a 
favorite  of  mine ;  and,  let  me  ask,  what  could  be  finer  in  expres- 
sion than  the  lines: 

"  *  The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure — her  triumphs  are  by; 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased.'  "  * 

At  that  point  I  became  unconscious,  and  awoke  a  half  hour 
later  to  find  the  company  betraying  much  emotion,  and  while 
recovering  myself  they  talked  together  in  low  tones  and  in  an 

*  The  reader  will  note  the  especial  appropriateness  of  the  poetical  sally  on  the 
part  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 


i82  Book  of  Knowledge. 

animated  manner.  This  was  interrupted  by  Mr.  Lincoln  rous- 
ing himself  with  an  effort,  saying,  "  I  must  go,  and  am  afraid  I 
have  already  stayed  too  long."  Shaking  hands  with  his  visitors, 
he  turned  in  his  kind  way  to  me,  and  warmly  shaking  my  hand, 
said,  "  I  thank  you,  Miss  Nettie,  for  obliging  us ;  we  have 
deeply  enjoyed  our  little  circle."  As  he  left  the  room  the  others, 
expressed  the  same  sentiment;  and  as  I  was  preparing  to  don 
my  bonnet  and  shawl,  Mrs.  Lincoln  requested  me  to  wait.  She 
rang  the  bell  for  the  servant,  who  soon  after  returned  with  two 
beautiful  bouquets,  one  of  which  she  said  was  for  Mrs.  Laurie, 
the  other  for  myself.  The  party  then  shook  hands  with  me, 
rising  as  they  did  so.  I  was  treated  by  them  with  the  same 
courtesy  as  would  have  been  offered  any  friend  or  old  acquaint- 
ance. The  following  poem  is  the  entire  text  of  the  part  quoted 
by  Mr.  Lincoln  on  that  occasion : 

OH!  WHY  SHOULD  THE   SPIRIT  OF   MORTAL   BE 

PROUD? 

Oh !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 
Like  a  swift  fleeting  meteor,  a  fast-flying  cloud, 
A  flash  of  the  hghtning,  a  break  of  the  wave, 
He  passeth  from  life  to  his  rest  in  the  grave. 

The  leaves  of  the  oak  and  the  willow  shall  fade. 

Be  scattered  around  and  together  be  laid ; 

And  the  young  and  the  old,  and  the  low  and  the  high. 

Shall  moulder  to  dust  and  together  shall  lie. 

The  infant  a  mother  attended  and  loved; 
The  mother  that  infant's  affection  who  proved ; 
The  husband,  that  mother  and  infant  who  blest, — 
Each,  all,  are  away  to  their  dwellings  of  rest. 

The  maid  on  whose  cheek,  on  whose  brow,  in  whose  eye, 
Shone  beauty  and  pleasure,  her  triumphs  are  by ; 
And  the  memory  of  those  who  loved  her  and  praised, 
Are  alike  from  the  minds  of  the  living  erased. 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  183 

The  hand  of  the  king  that  the  sceptre  hath  borne, 
The  brow  of  the  priest  that  the  mitre  hath  worn, 
The  eye  of  the  sage,  and  the  heart  of  the  brave. 
Are  hidden  and  lost  in  the  depths  of  the  grave. 

The  peasant,  whose  lot  was  to  sow  and  to  reap, 
The  herdsman,  who  climbed  with  his  goats  up  the  steep. 
The  beggar,  who  wandered  in  search  of  his  bread. 
Have  faded  away  like  the  grass  that  we  tread. 

The  saint,  who  enjoyed  the  communion  of  heaven, 
The  sinner,  who  dared  to  remain  unforgiven, 
The  wise  and  the  foolish,  the  guilty  and  just. 
Have  quietly  mingled  their  bones  in  the  dust. 

So  the  multitude  goes — ^like  the  flower  or  the  weed 
That  withers  away  to  let  others  succeed ; 
So  the  multitude  comes — even  those  we  behold, 
To  repeat  every  tale  which  has  often  been  told. 

For  we  are  the  same  our  fathers  have  been ; 
We  see  the  same  sights  our  fathers  have  seen ; 
We  drink  the  same  stream,  we  view  the  same  sun, 
And  run  the  same  course  our  fathers  have  run. 

The  thoughts  we  are  thinking,  our  fathers  would  think ; 
From  the  death  we  are  shrinking,  our  fathers  would  shrink ; 
To  the  life  we  are  clinging,  they  also  would  cling ; 
But  it  speeds  from  us  all  Hke  a  bird  on  the  wing. 

They  loved — but  the  story  we  cannot  unfold ; 
They  scorned — but  the  heart  of  the  haughty  is  cold ; 
They  grieved — but  no  wail  from  their  slumber  will  come ; 
They  joyed — but  the  tongue  of  their  gladness  is  dumb. 

They  died — ay,  they  died;  we  things  that  are  now, 
That  walk  on  the  turf  that  lies  over  their  brow, 
And  make  in  their  dwellings  a  transient  abode, 
Meet  the  things  that  they  met  on  their  pilgrimage  road. 


184  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Yea !  hope  and  despondency,  pleasure  and  pain, 
Are  mingled  together  in  sunshine  and  rain; 
And  the  smile  and  the  tear,  the  song  and  the  dirge, 
Still  follow  each  other,  like  surge  upon  surge. 

Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye — 'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath — 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud: — 
Oh !  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud  ? 

William  Knox. 


UNTIL  MY  WORK  IS  DONE. 
(From  Chapter  XVI 11.) 

1  lectured  occasionally  during  the  summer,  and  in  the  fall, 
near  the  close  of  the  Presidential  campaign  of  that  year  (1864), 
found  myself  in  New  Boston,  Mass.,  visiting  friends,  and  speak- 
ing for  them  every  Sunday.  Even  in  that  quiet  village  political 
excitement  ran  high,  and  both  parties  had  arranged  for  a  meet- 
ing in  the  town  hall,  where  I  was  accustomed  to  speak;  the 
Democrats  occupying  the  first  evening,  the  Republicans  the 
evening  following.  The  town  hall  was  packed  with  an  excited 
and  interested  crowd  on  both  occasions.  The  first  evening  a 
Democratic  lawyer  from  Great  Barrington  occupied  the  plat- 
form. His  speech  consisted  of  story-telling,  ridicule,  and  abuse 
of  the  government;  but  I  was  informed  that  he  was  far  more 
temperate  in  his  language  than  it  was  his  custom  to  be,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  the  rumor  had  gone  abroad,  I  know  not  how, 
that  I  was  a  member  of  the  "  Loyal  League,"  and  that  he  was 
in  danger  of  being  reported  if  he  carried  his  vituperation  too 
far.  I  did  take  a  few  notes  during  the  evening  of  his  derisive 
stories,  but  only  to  refresh  my  memory  regarding  them,  and 
this  fact  which  I  did  not  conceal,  doubtless  strengthened  his 
supposition.  I  noticed  that  he  watched  me  closely,  but  I  had 
no  idea  of  the  cause.  My  Republican  friends  informed  me  after- 
wards that  my  innocent  occupation  was  a  healthy  check  upon 
his  tongue,  which  they  informed  me  had  never  before  scrupled 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist?  185 

to  use  and  to  give  vent  to  the  strongest  and  worst  epithets  he 
was  capable  of  coining  against  President  Lincoln.  As  it  was, 
he  kept  the  audience  in  a  good  humor,  and  for  a  man  of  his 
sort  and  the  exciting  period  in  which  he  spoke,  he  was  in  a 
measure  temperate  in  language.  I  do  not  now  recall  his  name. 
The  following  evening  Henry  L.  Dawes,  Member  of  Congress 
from  Massachusetts,  and  a  staunch  Republican,  spoke  to  the 
same  immense  audience.  He  told  but  one  story  during  the  en- 
tire two  hours  occupied  by  his  address,  and  this  was  at  the  out- 
set of  his  remarks,  and  was  as  follows :  He  said  there  was  once 
a  man  who  had  a  very  vicious  and  destructive  dog,  that  became 
so  annoying  both  to  himself  and  his  neighbors  that  he  had  to 
kill  him ;  and  after  killing  the  dog,  then  commenced  kicking  his 
carcass  about  the  neighborhood,  beating  it  continually  until  his 
neighbors  protested,  saying,  "  You  have  killed  the  dog  and  he 
has  paid  the  penalty  of  his  wrong-doing  by  his  death.  Why 
not  bury  him  and  let  that  end  it  ?  "  He  replied  that  he  was 
kicking  and  beating  it  for  the  benefit  of  other  dogs  who  might 
be  inclined  to  follow  his  example,  and  to  let  them  know  there 
was  punishment  after  death.  "  I  am  here  to-night  for  a  similar 
purpose,"  said  Mr.  Dawes.  "  The  results  of  this  campaign  are 
a  foregone  conclusion.  The  Democratic  Party  is  dead,  and  will 
re<:eive  a  proper  burial  at  the  coming  election,  but  lest  there 
should  be  some  Democrats  ignorant  of  that  fact  and  inclined 
to  follow  the  vicious  ways  of  the  party,  I  am  here  to  say  to 
them  that  in  their  case,  also,  there  is  punishment  after  death." 

When  the  laughter  and  applause  had  subsided,  he  entered 
upon  the  real  business  of  the  hour,  and  never  had  I  heard  the 
causes  of  the  frightful  war  through  which  we  were  passing,  but 
which  was  then  fortunately  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  issues 
that  had  given  rise  to  it,  so  clearly  and  ably  presented.  He 
held  the  audience  in  breathless  attention  by  his  dispassionate 
presentation  of  the  facts,  sustained  by  overwhelming  proofs, 
never  once  descending  to  personalities,  while  his  periods  were 
rounded  with  such  eloquent  outbursts  of  patriotic  fervor  as 
awakened  the  wildest  enthusiasm. 

When  Mr.  Dawes  had  finished  his  able  and  eloquent  address, 
the  chairman  of  the  meeting,  who  was  also  President  of  our 


1 86  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Spiritualist  Society,  asked  him  if  he  had  any  objections  to  my 
occupying  the  rostrum  with  him  and  addressing  the  company. 
With  the  courtesy  which  ever  characterized  him,  he  answered 
in  the  negative,  and  when  I  was  introduced  to  him  he  recog- 
nized me,  having  met  me  in  Washington.  I  feh  it  an  honor, 
indeed,  to  be  permitted  to  speak  from  the  same  platform  with 
that  able  orator,  for  it  was,  indeed,  one  of  the  proudest  moments 
of  my  life.  The  audience  sang  a  ringing  campaign  song,  when 
I  became  entranced  and  addressed  the  audience  for  about  fif- 
teen minutes.  The  spirit  controlling  me  stated  in  substance,  as 
I  was  afterwards  informed,  that  he  had  nothing  to  add  to  what 
had  already  been  spoken  beyond  predicting  with  unerring  cer- 
tainty, that  Abraham  Lincoln  would  be  re-elected  at  the  coming 
national  election.  I  awoke  amid  the  applause  of  the  audience, 
and  Mr.  Dawes  congratulated  me  in  his  kind  way  upon  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  had  been  instrumental  in  closing  the  evening's 
exercises.  This  pleasant  incident  may  have  passed  from  his 
recollection,  but  it  stands  out  distinctly  in  my  own,  and  while 
the  president  of  the  meeting  passed  away  two  years  ago,  his 
wife  and  son,  with  many  others  who  are  now  living,  will  bear 
testimony  to  its  truth. 

A  few  weeks  later  found  us  again  in  Washington  City,  in 
response  to  urgent  solicitations  on  the  part  of  friends,  and  we 
were  the  guests  of  Major  Chorpenning  and  his  wife.  Major 
Chorpenning  was  the  first  man  to  carry  the  United  States  mail 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, under  a  contract  with  our  government,  which  he  had  en- 
tered into  many  years  previous  to  the  time  of  which  I  am  speak- 
ing, and  which  was  annulled  through  the  false  representations 
of  enemies,  who  coveted,  and  finally  obtained,  his  position. 
When  I  first  met  him  he  was  engaged  in  vigorously  prosecuting 
his  claim  against  the  government  for  damages  sustained  by  the 
annullment  of  the  contract.  He  was  generous  and  hospitable  to 
a  fault,  while  his  wife,  a  brilliant  society  lady,  entertained  in  a 
manner  which  insured  the  acceptance  of  their  invitations.  A 
brilliant  company  assembled  in  their  parlors  once  a  week,  and 
the  evenings  were  always  very  enjoyable.  Nearly  every  recep- 
tion, by  unanimous  request,  was  turned  into  a  spiritual  circle. 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist  f  187 

and  I  here  met  many  gentlemen  from  both  branches  of  Con- 
gress, among  whom  were  Mr.  Eben  Ingersoll  and  Mr.  John  F. 
Farnsworth,  of  Illinois  (Rep.  35th  Congress),  Mr.  Henry  L. 
Dawes,  of  Massachusetts,  and  many  others  whose  names  I  can- 
not now  recall.  To  their  honor,  be  it  said,  the  gentlemen  I 
have  named  were  never  associated  with  any  of  the  scandals 
with  which  Washington  society  was  rife,  and  I  have  always 
heard  them  named  with  respect,  and  mentioned  as  above  re- 
proach, both  as  to  their  public  and  private  life.  This  was  the 
truth  also  of  many  others. 

Time  and  sickness  have  impaired  my  memory  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  although  I  can  recall  the  faces  and  manner  of  many 
whom  I  met,  I  cannot  accurately  place  them.  They  seemed  to 
keenly  enjoy  the  circles  they  attended,  while  the  major's  violin 
and  his  wife's  beautiful  singing  added  greatly  to  the  charm  of 
the  evenings.     Refreshments  were  usually  served  at  a  late  hour. 

These  pleasant  social  gatherings  are  among  the  most  pleas- 
ant memories  of  my  Washington  experiences.  Tuesday  after- 
noons we  usually  attended  Mrs.  Lincoln's  receptions,  often  meet- 
ing there  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  graced  our  own.  It 
was  during  this  memorable  winter  of  '64  and  '65,  when  the 
Rebellion  was  in  its  death  throes,  that  I  knew  of  the  visits  of 
Charles  Colchester  and  Charles  Foster  (two  well-known  me- 
diums of  that  time)  to  the  White  House,  and  of  their  sittings 
with  President  Lincoln.  Through  them  and  through  myself 
he  received  warnings  of  his  approaching  fate ;  but  his  fearless, 
confident  nature  disregarded  the  warnings  he  received.  It  was 
during  the  last  days  of  February,  when  the  city  was  being  filled 
to  its  utmost  capacity  by  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
to  witness  the  second  inauguration  of  President  Lincoln  that  I 
received  a  dispatch  from  my  home  telling  me  my  father  was 
dangerously  ill,  and  to  come  at  once.  Having  an  appointment 
at  the  White  House  for  the  following  week,  I  hastened  with  my 
friend.  Miss  Hannum,  to  the  ExecutiveMansion  to  inform  Mrs. 
Lincoln  of  the  necessity  which  called  me  away.  She  was  out 
and  we  proceeded  upstairs  to  the  anteroom,  adjacent  to  Mr. 
Lincoln's  office,  hoping  for  a  last  word  with  him.  It  was  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  during  the  last  days  of  the  expiring 


1 88  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Congress,  and  the  waiting-room  was  filled  with  members  from 
both  Houses,  all  anxious  to  get  a  word  with  the  President.  Mr. 
Ingersoll  and  a  number  of  others  whom  I  knew  were  there,  and 
it  seemed  doubtful  of  our  obtaining  an  interview.  Mr.  Inger- 
soll smilingly  asked  if  I  expected  to  have  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Lincoln.  I  replied,  "  I  hope  so,  as  I  am  about  to  leave  the  city." 
He  remarked  he  feared  it  was  doubtful,  as  he  and  many  others 
had  been  waiting  many  hours  for  a  chance  to  speak  with  him 
and  had  failed.  Edward,  the  faithful  and  devoted  usher  of  the 
White  House,  was  passing  to  and  fro,  taking  in  cards  to  Mr. 
Lincoln's  office.  CalHng  him  to  me,  I  explained  that  I  wished 
to  see  the  President  for  one  brief  moment,  to  explain  why  I 
could  not  keep  my  engagement  the  following  week ;  and  giving 
him  my  card  bade  him  watch  for  an  opportunity  when  Mr.  Lin- 
coln would  be  parting  from  those  that  were  with  him,  and  then 
place  my  card  in  his  hand,  telling  him  I  would  detain  him  but  an 
instant. 

Half  an  hour  went  by,  when  Edward  approached  and  bade 
us  follow  him.  Mr.  Ingersoll,  with  whom  we  had  been  talking, 
bade  us  laughingly  to  speak  a  word  for  him,  and  we  were  soon 
ushered  into  Mr.  Lincoln's  presence.  He  stood  at  his  table, 
busily  looking  over  some  papers,  but  laid  them  down  and 
greeted  us  with  his  usual  genial  smile.  In  as  few  words  as 
possible,  knowing  how  precious  was  his  time,  we  informed  him 
of  the  cause  of  our  unseasonable  call,  stating  that  I  had  been 
summoned  home  by  a  telegram  telHng  me  my  father  was 
dangerously  ill.  Looking  at  me  with  a  quizzical  smile,  he  said, 
"  But  cannot  our  friends  from  the  upper  country  tell  you 
whether  his  illness  is  likely  to  prove  fatal  or  not  ?  "  I  replied 
that  I  had  already  consulted  with  our  friends,  and  they  had 
assured  me  that  his  treatment  was  wrong,  and  that  my  pres- 
ence was  needed  to  efifect  a  cure.  Turning  to  my  friend  he  said 
laughingly,  "  I  didn't  catch  her,  did  I  ?  "  Then  turning  to  me 
he  said,  "  I  am  sorry  you  cannot  remain  to  witness  the  inaug- 
uration, as  no  doubt  you  wish."  "  Indeed  we  would  enjoy  it," 
I  replied,  "  but  the  crowd  will  be  so  great  we  will  not  be  able 
to  see  you,  Mr.  Lincoln,  even  if  we  remain."  "  You  could  not 
help  it,"  he  answered,  drawing  his  tall  figure  to  its  full  height, 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualist  f  189 

and  glancing  at  my  friend  in  an  amused  way,  "  I  shall  be  the 
tallest  man  there."  "  That  is  true,"  my  friend  responded,  "  in 
every  sense  of  the  word."  He  nodded  pleasantly  at  the  com- 
pliment, and  then  turning  to  me  remarked,  "  But  what  do  our 
friends  say  of  us  now  ?  "  "  What  they  predicted  for  you,  Mr. 
Lincoln,  has  come  to  pass,"  I  answered,  "  and  you  are  to  be  in- 
augurated a  second  time."  He  nodded  his  head,  and  I  con- 
tinued, "  But  they  also  reaffirm  that  the  shadow  they  have 
spoken  of  still  hangs  over  you."  He  turned  half  impatiently 
away,  and  said,  "  Yes,  I  know.  I  have  letters  from  all  over  the 
country  from  your  kind  of  people — mediums,  I  mean — warning 
me  against  some  dreadful  plot  against  my  life.  But  I  don't 
think  the  knife  is  made  or  the  bullet  run  that  will  reach  it. 
Besides,  nobody  wants  to  harm  me."  A  feeling  of  sadness  that 
I  could  not  conceal  nor  account  for  came  over  me,  and  I  said, 
"Therein  lies  your  danger,  Mr.  Lincoln,  your  over-confidence 
in  your  fellow-men."  The  old  melancholy  look  that  had  of  late 
seemed  lifted  from  his  face  now  fell  over  it,  and  he  said  in  his 
subdued,  quiet  way,  "  Well,  Miss  Nettie,  I  shall  live  till  my  work 
is  done,  and  no  earthly  power  can  prevent  it.  And  then  it 
doesn't  matter  so  that  I  am  ready — and  that  I  ever  mean  to 
be."  Brightening  again,  he  extended  a  hand  to  each  of  us,  say- 
ing, "  Well,  I  suppose  we  must  bid  you  good-bye,  but  we  shall 
hope  to  see  you  back  again  next  fall."  "  We  shall  certainly 
come,"  we  replied,  "  if  you  are  here"  without  thinking  of  the 
doubts  our  words  implied.  "  It  looks  like  it  now,"  he  answered, 
and  walking  with  us  to  a  side  door,  with  another  cordial  shake 
of  the  hand,  we  passed  out  of  his  presence  for  the  last  time. 
Never  again  would  we  meet  his  welcome  smile. 

"  He  perished  ere  the  land  of  peace 
Had  rolled  war's  curtain  from  the  sky ; 
But  he  shall  live  when  wrong  shall  cease ; 
The  great  and  good  can  never  die." 

EXTREMES   MEET. 

A  very  pleasant  episode  which  had  almost  escaped  my  recol- 
lection occurred  one  evening  after  returning  from  the  White 


190  Book  of  Knowledge. 

House,  where  a  seance  had  been  given  for  Mr.  Lincoln.  Miss 
Hannum  informed  me  that  during  my  absence  Mrs.  Chorpen- 
ning's  colored  cook  had  told  her  that  an  old  colored  friend  had 
lost  three  hundred  dollars  which  he  had  kept  hidden  in  the 
toe  of  an  old  shoe  ...  secreted  in  his  bedroom,  which  sum 
represented  his  savings  of  a  lifetime,  and  that  some  one  had 
taken  it,  and  "Auntie  wished  her  (Parnie)  to  use  her  influence 
with  me  to  obtain  my  assistance  and  for  that  purpose  to  have  a 
sitting  for  the  old  man.  At  the  same  time  the  cook  stated  that 
she  was  "  afeard  he  would  go  crazy."  My  friend  promised  a 
sitting  on  my  return,  and  told  her  to  bring  the  old  man  to  our 
room  just  previous  to  retiring  for  the  night.  Parnie  had 
scarcely  ceased  her  revelation  when  a  low  knock  oti  the  back 
stairway  door  announced  the  arrival  of  our  sable  visitors.  On 
opening  the  door,  a  tall,  gaunt,  stooping  figure  met  our  sight, 
whose  grey  head  contrasted  strongly  with  the  black  features, 
and  who  shambled  into  the  room  with  many  apologies,  followed 
by  the  cook.  Cutting  short  his  profuse  expressions  of  grati- 
tude, we  reminded  him  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour  and  seated 
ourselves  for  the  seance,  and  for  the  second  time  that  evening  I 
went  under  influence,  and  my  little  spirit  messenger,  "  Pinkie," 
at  once  informed  him  that  his  "  wampum  "  was  safe  where  he 
had  put  it,  but  that  the  old  shoe  had  been  thrown  out,  with 
other  rubbish,  into  the  backyard  of  the  tenement  house  he 
occupied,  and  that  among  the  rubbish  he  would  find  it  safe  in 
the  morning.  .  My  friend  had  much  difficulty  in  making  the  old 
man  comprehend  what  had  been  said  to  him,  that  it  was  a 
"  spirit "  in  the  room  whom  he  could  not  see  who  had  given 
the  communication,  his  eyes  rolled  in  terror  as  he  edged  toward 
the  door.  It  required  our  combined  power  of  explanation  to 
assure  him  that  he  was  in  no  danger  of  seeing  "  ghostes."  The 
explanation  given  him  was  in  answer  to  his  question,  "  How  dat 
chile  know  about  dis  ?  " 

They  finally  left,  with  many  apologies  for  calling.  The  next 
morning  as  we  were  about  to  descend  to  breakfast  the  old  man's 
timid  rap  was  heard.  He  came  in  smiling  and  bowing,  saying 
he  had  come  to  tell  us  that  he  had  found  the  shoe  and  the 
money  "  right  whar  the  young  missis  said  it  was."     He  was 


Was  Lincoln  a  Spiritualistf  191 

overjoyed  at  the  recovery  of  his  lost  treasure,  and  exhibited  his 
pleasure  by  offering  to  pay  me  anything  I  would  require  for  the 
service  rendered  him.  We  assured  him  that  he  was  welcome, 
and  that  there  was  no  charge.  He  asserted  in  further  explana- 
tion and  thanks  that  old  Sally  had  been  "  clarin'  up  the  rooms," 
and  in  cleaning  out  the  dirt  had  thrown  out  the  worn-out  shoe 
as  being  of  no  account,  little  dreaming  that  its  delapidated  toe 
contained  the  precious  hoard  of  a  lifetime,  accumulated  in  small 
sums,  until  its  total  represented  comparative  ease  and  future 
protection  to  the  old  fellow. 

Early  in  the  evening  my  time  had  been  passed,  and  my  gift 
exercised,  in  the  presence  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  ruler  of  a 
great  nation,  while  the  latter  part  was  given  in  the  same  manner 
to  alleviate  the  misery  of  a  poor  old  negro  who  represented  one 
of  his  most  humble  adherents.  To  the  thoughtful  mind  the 
picture  presented  declares  the  breadth  and  scope  of  that  power 
that  leads  and  guides  all  mediums  in  their  God-given  work  of 
ministering  to  the  needs  of  humanity.  Equal  to  every  occasion, 
it  touches  the  loftiest  heights  with  a  light  of  truth  and  wisdom, 
guiding  the  uncertain  steps  of  man  in  hours  of  supreme  trial, 
and  descends  to  the  lowest  valley  to  aid  and  comfort  the  poor 
and  humble,  and  carry  joy  to  the  weak  and  miserable.  There- 
fore, who  shall  say  that  it  is  not  of  God? — By  permission  of 
Mrs.  E.  S.  Hartranft. 


CHAPTER    VIIL 

FLORENCE    MARRYAT. 

(Author  of  "  There  Is  No  Death.") 

"  There  is  no  death !     What  seems  so,  is  transition, 
This  life  of  mortal  breath 
Is  but  a  burst  of  the  life  elysian, 
Whose  portal  we  call  Death." 

Longfellow. 

The  following  is  quoted  from  "  There  Is  No  Death,"  the 
first  experience  of  the  author,  Florence  Marryat.  She  was  an 
able  writer  and  must  have  been  sure  of  her  convictions  when  she 
gave  her  book  to  the  public. 

(From  Chapter  II. — My  First  Seance.) 

I  had  returned  from  India  and  spent  several  years  in  Eng- 
land before  the  subject  of  Modern  Spiritualism  was  brought 
under  my  immediate  notice.  Cursorily,  I  had  heard  it  mentioned 
by  some  people  as  a  dreadfully  wicked  thing,  diabolical  to  the 
last  degree,  by  others  as  a  most  amusing  pastime  for  evening 
parties,  or  when  one  wanted  to  get  some  "  fun  out  of  the  table." 
But  neither  description  charmed  me,  nor  tempted  me  to  pursue 
the  occupation.  I  had  already  lost  too  many  friends.  Spirit- 
ualism (so  it  seemed  to  me),  must  either  be  a  humbug  or  a  very 
solemn  thing,  and  I  neither  wished  to  trifle  with  it  nor  be  trifled 
with  by  it.  And  after  twenty  years  continued  experience,  I 
hold  the  same  opinion.  I  have  proved  Spiritualism  7iot  to  be  a 
humbug,  therefore  I  regard  it  in  a  sacred  light.  For,  from 
whatever  cause  it  may  proceed,  it  opens  a  vast  area  for  thought 
to  any  speculative  mind,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  constant  surprise 
to  me  to  see  the  indifference  with  which  the  world  regards  it. 
That  it  exists  is  an  undeniable  fact.     Men  of  science  have  ac- 


Florence  Marryat.  193 

knowledged  it,  and  the  churches  cannot  deny  it.  The  only  ques- 
tion seems  to  be  "  What  is  it,  and  whence  does  the  power  pro- 
ceed?" If  (as  many  clever  people  assert),  from  ourselves,  then 
must  these  bodies  and  minds  of  ours  possess  faculties  hitherto 
undreamed  of,  and  which  we  have  allowed  to  lie  culpably  fallow. 
If  our  bodies  contain  magnetic  forces  sufficient  to  raise  substan- 
tial and  apparently  living  forms  from  the  bare  earth,  which 
our  eyes  are  clairvoyant  enough  to  see,  and  which  can  articulate 
words,  which  our  ears  are  clairaudient  enough  to  hear,  if,  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  our  minds  can  read  each  other's  inmost  thoughts, 
can  see  what  is  passing  at  a  distance  and  foretell  what  will 
happen  in  the  future,  then  are  our  human  powers  greater  than  we 
have  ever  imagined,  and  we  ought  to  do  a  great  deal  more  with 
them  than  we  do.  And  even  regarding  Spiritualism  from  that 
point  of  view,  I  cannot  understand  the  lack  of  interest  displayed 
in  the  discovery,  to  turn  these  marvellous  powers  of  the  human 
mind  to  a  greater  account. 

To  discuss  it,  however,  from  the  usual  meaning  given  to  the 
word,  namely,  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the  departed, 
leaves  me  as  puzzled  as  before.  All  Christians  acknowledge 
that  they  have  spirits  independent  of  their  bodies,  and  that  when 
their  bodies  die,  their  spirits  will  continue  to  live  on.  Wherein, 
then,  lies  the  terror  of  the  idea  that  these  liberated  spirits  will 
have  the  privilege  of  roaming  the  universe  as  they  will?  And 
if  they  argue  the  impossibility  of  their  return,  they  deny  the 
records  that  form  the  only  basis  of  their  religion.  No  greater 
proof  can  be  brought  forward  of  the  truth  of  Spiritualism  than 
the  truth  of  the  Bible,  which  teems  and  bristles  with  accounts 
of  it  from  beginning  to  end.  From  the  period  when  the  Lord 
God  walked  with  Adam  and  Eve  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  and 
the  angels  came  to  Abram's  tent  and  pulled  Lot  out  of  the 
doomed  city;  when  the  witch  of  Endor  raised  up  Samuel;  and 
Balaam's  ass  spoke ;  and  Ezekiel  wrote  that  the  hair  of  his  head 
stood  up  because  a  "  spirit  "  passed  before  him,  to  the  presence 
of  Satan  with  Jesus  in  the  desert  and  the  reappearance  of  Moses 
and  Elias;  the  resurrection  of  Christ  Himself  and  His  talking 
and  eating  with  His  disciples,  and  the  final  account  of  John  being 
caught  up  to  Heaven  to  receive  the  revelations — all  is  Spiritual- 


194  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ism  and  nothing  else.  The  Protestant  Church,  which  pins  its 
faith  upon  the  Bible  and  nothing  but  the  Bible,  cannot  deny  that 
the  spirits  of  mortal  men  have  reappeared  and  been  recognized 
upon  this  earth,  as  when  the  graves  opened  at  the  time  of  the 
Christ's  crucifixion,  and  "  many  bodies  of  those  that  were  dead 
arose  and  went  into  the  city  and  were  seen  of  many."  The 
Catholic  Church  does  not  attempt  to  deny  it.  All  her  legends 
and  miracles  (which  are  disbelieved  and  ridiculed  by  the  Protes- 
tants aforesaid)  are  founded  on  the  same  truth — the  miraculous 
or  supernatural  return  (as  it  is  styled),  of  those  who  are  gone, 
though  I  hope  to  make  my  readers  believe  as  I  do,  that  there  is 
nothing  miraculous  in  it,  and  far  from  being  supernatural,  it  is 
only  a  continuation  of  Nature.  Putting  the  churches  and  the 
Bible,  however,  on  one  side,  the  history  of  nations  proves  it  is 
possible.  There  is  not  a  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe  which 
has  not  its  (so-called)  superstitions,  nor  a  family,  hardly,  which 
has  not  experienced  some  proofs  of  spiritual  communion  with 
earth.  Where  learning  and  science  have  thrust  all  belief  out  of 
sight,  it  is  only  natural  that  a  man  who  does  not  believe  in  a 
God  nor  a  Hereafter  should  not  credit  the  existence  of  spirits,  nor 
the  possibility  of  communicating  with  them.  But  the  lower  we 
go  in  the  scale  of  society,  the  more  simple  and  childlike  the  mind, 
the  more  readily  does  such  a  faith  gain  credence  and  the  more 
stories  you  will  hear  to  justify  belief.  It  is  just  the  same  with 
religion,  which  is  hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed 
to  babes. 

If  I  am  met  here  with  the  objection  that  the  term  "  Spiritual- 
ism "  has  been  at  times  mixed  up  with  so  much  that  is  evil  as  to 
become  an  offence,  I  have  no  better  answer  to  make  than  by  turn- 
ing to  the  irrefragable  testimony  of  the  past  and  present  to  prove 
that  in  all  ages  and  of  all  religions  there  have  been  corrupt  and 
demoralized  exponents  whose  vices  have  threatened  to  pull  down 
the  fabric  they  lived  to  raise.  Christianity  itself  would  have 
been  overthrown  by  now,  had  we  been  unable  to  separate  its 
doctrine  from  its  practice. 

I  held  these  views  in  the  month  of  February,  1873,  when  I 
made  one  of  a  party  of  friends  assembled  at  the  house  of  Miss 
Elizabeth  Philip,  in  Gloucester  Crescent,  and  was  introduced  to 


Florence  Marryat.  195 

Mr.  Henry  Dunphy,  of  the  Morning  Post,  both  of  them  since 
gone  to  join"  the  great  majority.  Mr.  Dunphy  soon  got  astride 
of  his  favorite  hobby  of  Spiritualism,  and  gave  me  an  interesting 
account  of  some  of  the  seances  he  had  attended.  I  had  heard 
so  many  clever  men  and  women  discuss  the  subject  before,  that 
I  had  begun  to  believe  on  their  authority  that  there  must  be 
"  something  in  it,"  but  I  held  that  sittings  in  the  dark  must  afford 
so  much  liberty  for  deception  that  I  would  engage  in  none  that 
I  was  not  permitted  the  use  of  my  eyesight. 

I  expressed  myself  somewhat  after  this  fashion  to  Mr.  Dun- 
phy. He  replied,  "  Then  the  time  has  arrived  for  you  to  inves- 
tigate Spiritualism,  for  I  can  introduce  you  to  a  medium  who  will 
show  you  faces  of  the  dead !  "  This  proposal  exactly  met  my 
wishes,  and  I  gladly  accepted  it.  Annie  Thomas  (Mrs.  Pender 
Cudlip),  the  novelist,  who  is  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  was 
staying  with  me  at  the  time  and  became  as  eager  as  I  was  to 
investigate  the  phenomena.  We  took  the  address  Mr.  Dunphy 
gave  us  of  Mrs.  Holmes,  the  American  medium,  then  visiting 
London  and  lodging  in  Old  Quebec  Street,  Portman  Square, 
but  we  refused  his  introduction,  preferring  to  go  incognito.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  next  evening  when  she  held  a  public  seance,  we 
presented  ourselves  at  Mrs.  Holmes'  door;  and  having  first  re- 
moved our  wedding  rings,  to  look  as  virginal  as  possible,  sent 
up  our  names  as  Miss  Taylor  and  Miss  Turner.  I  am  perfectly 
aware  that  this  medium  was  said  afterward  to  be  untrustworthy. 
So  may  a  servant  who  was  perfectly  honest  whilst  in  my  service 
leave  me  for  a  situation  where  she  is  detected  in  theft.  That 
does  not  alter  the  fact  that  she  stole  nothing  from  me.  I  do  not 
think  I  know  a  single  medium  of  whom  I  have  not  (at  some 
time  or  other)  heard  the  same  thing,  and  I  do  not  know  a 
single  woman  whom  I  have  not  also,  at  some  time  or  other, 
heard  scandalized  by  her  own  sex,  however  pure  and  chaste 
she  imagines  the  world  holds  her.  The  question  affected  me  in 
neither  case.  I  value  my  acquaintances  for  what  they  are  to  me, 
not  for  what  they  may  be  to  others;  and  I  have  placed  trust  in 
my  media  from  what  I  individually  have  seen  and  heard,  and 
proved  to  be  genuine  in  their  presence,  and  not  from  what  others 
may  imagine  they  have  found  out  about  them.    It  is  no  detriment 


196  Book  of  Knowledge. 

to  my  witness  that  the  media  I  sat  with  cheated  somebody  else 
either  before  or  after.  My  business  was  only  to  take  care  that  / 
was  not  cheated,  and  I  have  never  in  Spiritualism  accepted  any- 
thing at  the  hands  of  others  that  I  could  not  prove  for  myself. 

Mrs.  Holmes  did  not  receive  us  very  graciously  on  the 
present  occasion.  We  were  strangers  to  her — probably  skeptics, 
and  she  eyed  us  rather  coldly.  It  was  a  bitter  night,  and  the 
snow  lay  so  thick  upon  the  ground  that  we  had  some  difficulty 
in  procuring  a  hansom  to  take  us  from  Bays  water  to  Old 
Quebec  Street.  No  other  visitors  arrived,  and  after  a  little  while 
Mrs.  Holmes  offered  to  return  our  money  (ten  shillings),  as  she 
said  if  she  did  sit  with  us  there  would  probably  be  no  manifesta- 
tions, on  account  of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  (Often 
since  then  I  have  proved  her  assertion  to  be  true,  and  found  that 
any  extreme  of  heat  or  cold  is  liable  to  make  a  seance  a  dead 
failure.)  But  Annie  Thomas  had  to  return  to  her  home  in  Tor- 
quay the  following  day,  so  we  begged  the  medium  to  try  at  least 
to  show  us  something,  as  we  were  very  curious  on  the  subject. 
I  am  not  quite  sure  what  I  hoped  for  or  expected  on  this  occa- 
sion. I  was  full  of  curiosity  and  anticipation,  but  I  am  sure  that 
I  never  thought  that  I  should  see  any  face  which  I  could  recog- 
nize as  having  been  on  earth.  We  waited  until  nine  o'clock,  in 
hopes  that  a  circle  would  be  formed,  but  no  one  else  came  and 
Mrs.  Holmes  consented  to  sit  with  us  alone,  warning  us,  how- 
ever, several  times,  to  prepare  for  disappointment.  The  lights 
were  therefore  extinguished  and  we  sat  for  the  usual  preliminary 
dark  seance,  which  was  good,  perhaps,  but  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  narrative  of  facts  proved  to  be  so.  When  it  concluded 
the  gas  was  relit,  and  we  sat  for  "  Spirit  Faces." 

There  were  two  small  rooms  connected  by  folding-doors. 
Annie  Thomas  and  I  were  asked  to  go  into  the  back  room — to 
lock  the  door  communicating  with  the  landings  and  secure  it 
with  our  own  seal,  stamped  upon  a  piece  of  tape  stretched  across 
the  opening,  to  examine  the  window  and  bar  the  shutter  inside, 
to  search  the  room  thoroughly;  in  fact,  to  see  that  no  one  was 
concealed  in  it — and  we  did  all  this  as  a  matter  of  business. 
When  we  had  satisfied  ourselves  that  no  one  could  enter  from 
the  back,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes,  Annie  Thomas  and  I  were 


Florence  Marryat  197 

seated  on  four  chairs  in  the  front  room,  arranged  in  a  row  be- 
fore the  folding  doors  which  were  opened,  and  a  square  of  black 
calico  fastened  across  the  aperture  from  one  wall  to  the  other. 
In  this  piece  of  calico  was  cut  a  square  hole,  about  the  size  of 
an  ordinary  window,  at  which  we  were  told  the  spirit  faces  (if 
any)  would  appear.  There  was  no  singing  nor  sounds  of  any 
sort  made  to  drown  the  preparation,  and  we  could  have  heard 
even  a  rustle  in  the  next  room.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  talked  to 
us  of  their  various  experiences,  until  we  were  almost  tired  of 
waiting,  when  something  white  and  indistinct,  like  a  cloud  of 
tobacco  smoke  or  a  bundle  of  gossamer,  appeared  and  disap- 
peared again. 

"  They  are  coming !  I  am  glad !  "  said  Mrs.  Holmes,  "  I 
didn't  think  we  could  get  anything  to-night,"  and  my  friend  and 
I  were  immediately  on  the  tip-toe  of  expectation.  The  white 
mass  advanced  and  retreated  several  times,  and  finally  settled 
before  the  aperture  and  opened  in  the  middle,  when  a  female 
face  was  distinctly  seen  above  the  black  calico.  What  was  our 
amazement  to  recognize  the  features  of  Mrs.  Thomas,  An- 
nie's mother.  Here  I  should  tell  my  readers  that  Annie's  father 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Royal  Navy  and  captain  of  the  coastguard 
at  Morston  in  Norfolk,  had  been  a  near  neighbor  and  great 
friend  of  my  father.  Captain  Marryat,  and  their  children  had 
associated  like  brothers  and  sisters.  I  had  therefore  known  Mrs. 
Thomas  well,  and  recognized  her  at  once,  as  of  course  did  her 
daughter.  The  witness  of  two  people  is  considered  sufficient  in 
law.  It  ought  to  be  accepted  by  society.  Poor  Annie  was  very 
much  affected  and  talked  to  her  mother  in  the  most  incoherent 
manner.  The  spirit  did  not  seem  able  to  answer  in  words,  but 
she  bowed  her  head  or  shook  it  according  as  she  wished  to  say 
"  yes  "  or  "  no."  I  could  not  help  feeling  awed  at  the  appearance 
of  the  dear  old  lady,  but  the  only  thing  that  puzzled  me  was  the 
cap  she  wore,  which  was  made  of  white  net  quilled  closely 
around  her  face,  and  unlike  any  I  had  ever  seen  her  wear  in 
life.  I  whispered  this  to  Annie  and  she  replied  at  once,  "  It  is 
the  cap  she  was  buried  in,"  which  settled  the  question.  Mrs. 
Thomas  had  possessed  a  very  pleasant  and  uncommon  face,  with 
bright  black  eyes  and  a  complexion  of  pink  and  white,  like  that 


198  Book  of  Knowledge. 

of  a  child.  It  was  some  time  before  Annie  could  be  persuaded  to 
let  her  mother  go,  but  the  next  face  that  presented  itself  aston- 
ished her  quite  as  much,  for  she  recognized  it  as  that  of  Captain 
Gordon,  a  gentleman  whom  she  had  known  intimately  and  for  a 
length  of  time.  I  had  never  seen  Captain  Gordon  in  the  flesh 
but  had  heard  of  him,  and  knew  he  had  died  from  a  sudden  ac- 
cident. All  I  saw  was  the  head  of  a  good-looking,  fair,  young 
man,  and  not  feeling  any  personal  interest  in  his  appearance,  I 
occupied  the  time  during  which  my  friend  conversed  with  him 
about  olden  days,  by  minutely  examining  the  working  of  the 
muscles  of  the  throat,  which  undeniably  stretched  when  his  head 
moved.  As  I  was  doing  so  he  leaned  forward  and  I  saw  a  dark 
stain  which  looked  like  a  clot  of  blood  on  his  fair  hair,  on  the 
left  side  of  the  forehead. 

"  Annie !  what  did  Captain  Gordon  die  of  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  He  fell  from  a  railway  carriage,"  she  replied,  and  struck 
his  head  upon  the  line."  I  then  pointed  out  to  her  the  blood 
upon  his  hair.  Several  other  faces  appeared  which  we  could  not 
recognize.  At  last  came  one  of  a  gentleman,  apparently  moulded 
like  a  bust  in  plaster  of  paris.  He  had  a  kind  of  smoking  cap 
upon  the  head,  curly  hair  and  a  beard,  but  being  perfectly  colorless 
he  looked  so  unlike  nature  that  I  could  not  trace  a  resemblance  to 
any  friend  of  mine,  though  he  kept  on  bowing  in  my  direction, 
as  though  I  knew  or  had  known  him.  I  examined  this  face 
again  and  again  in  vain.  Nothing  in  it  struck  me  as  familiar 
until  the  mouth  broke  into  a  grave,  amused  smile  at  my  per- 
plexity. In  a  moment  I  recognized  it  as  that  of  my  dear  old 
friend,  John  Powles,  whose  history  I  shall  relate  in  extenso  fur- 
ther on.  I  exclaimed  "  Powles !  "  and  sprang  towards  it,  but 
with  my  hasty  action  my  figure  disappeared.  I  was  terribly 
vexed  at  my  imprudence,  for  this  was  the  friend  of  all  others  I 
desired  to  see,  and  sat  there  hoping  and  praying  the  spirit  would 
return,  but  it  did  not.  Annie  Thomas'  mother  and  friend  came 
back  several  times;  indeed  Annie  recalled  Captain  Gordon  so 
often  that  on  his  last  appearance  the  power  was  so  exhausted 
that  his  face  looked  like  a  faded  sketch  in  water  colors,  but  Powles 
had  vanished  altogether.  The  last  face  we  saw  that  night  was 
that  of  a  little  girl,  and  only  her  eyes  and  nose  were  visible,  the 


Florence  Marry  at.  199 

rest  of  her  head  and  face  being  enveloped  in  some  white,  flimsy 
material,  like  muslin.  Mrs.  Holmes  asked  her  for  whom  she 
came,  and  she  intimated  that  it  was  for  me.  I  said  that  she  must 
be  mistaken,  that  I  had  known  no  one  in  life  like  her.  The 
medium  questioned  her  very  closely  and  tried  to  put  her  "  out  of 
court,"  as  it  were.  Still  the  child  persisted  that  she  came  for  me. 
Mrs.  Holmes  said  to  me,  *'  Cannot  you  remember  any  one  of 
that  age  connected  with  you  in  the  spirit  world?  No  cousin, 
nor  niece,  nor  sister,  nor  child  of  a  friend  ?  "  I  tried  to  remem- 
ber, but  could  not  and  answered,  "  No,  no  child  of  that  age." 
She  then  addressed  the  little  spirit.  "  You  have  made  a  mistake. 
There  is  no  one  here  who  knows  you.  You  had  better  move  on." 
So  the  child  did  move  on,  but  very  slowly  and  reluctantly.  I 
could  read  her  disappointment  in  her  eyes,  and  after  she  had  dis- 
appeared, she  peeped  around  the  corner  again  and  looked  at  me 
longingly.  This  was  Florence,  my  dear  lost  child  (as  I  then 
called  her),  who  had  left  me  as  a  little  infant  of  ten  days  old, 
and  whom  I  could  not  at  first  recognize  as  a  young  girl  of  ten 
years.  Her  identity,  however,  has  been  proven  to  me  since, 
beyond  all  doubt,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  which  relates  my 
reunion  with  her,  and  is  headed  "  My  Spirit  Child."  Thus  ended 
the  first  seance  at  which  I  ever  assisted,  and  it  made  a  powerful 
impression  upon  my  mind.  Mrs.  Holmes,  in  bidding  us  good- 
night, said,  "  You  two  ladies  must  be  very  powerful  mediums. 
I  never  held  so  successful  a  seance  with  strangers  in  my  life 
before."  This  news  elated  us — we  were  eager  to  pursue  our 
investigations,  and  were  enchanted  to  think  that  we  could  have 
seances  at  home,  and  as  soon  as  Annie  Thomas  took  up  her  resi- 
dence in  London,  we  agreed  to  hold  regular  meetings  for  the 
purpose.  This  was  the  seance  that  made  me  a  student  of  the 
psychological  phenomena,  which  the  men  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury term  Spiritualism.  Had  it  turned  out  a  failure,  I  might 
have  been  as  most  men  are.  Qiiien  sabef  As  it  was,  it  incited 
me  to  go  on  and  on,  until  I  have  seen  and  heard  things  which 
at  that  moment  would  have  seemed  utterly  impossible  to  me. 
And  I  would  not  have  missed  the  experience  I  have  passed 
through  for  all  the  good  this  world  could  offer  me. 


200  Book  of  Knowledge. 

(Chapter  III. — Curious  Coincidences.) 

Before  I  proceed  to  write  down  the  results  of  my  private 
and  premeditated  investigations,  I  am  reminded  to  say  a  word 
respecting  the  permission  I  received  for  the  pursuit  of  Spiritual- 
ism. As  soon  as  I  expressed  my  curiosity  on  the  subject,  I  was 
met  on  all  sides  with  the  objection  that,  as  I  am  a  Catholic,  I  could 
not  possibly  have  anything  to  do  with  the  matter,  and  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  church  strictly  forbids  all  meddling  with  necromancy 
or  communion  with  the  departed.  Necromancy  is  a  terrible  word, 
is  it  not?  Especially  to  such  people  who  do  not  understand  its 
meaning  and  only  associate  it  with  the  dead  of  night,  charmed 
circles,  and  seething  caldrons,  and  the  arch  fiend,  in  propria  per- 
sona, with  two  horns  and  a  tail.  Yet  it  seems  strange  to  me  that 
the  Catholic  Church,  whose  very  doctrine  is  overlaid  with  Spirit- 
ualism, and  who  makes  it  a  matter  of  belief  that  the  Saints  hear 
and  help  us  in  our  prayers  and  the  daily  actions  of  our  lives,  and 
recommends  our  kissing  the  ground  every  morning  at  the  feet 
of  our  guardian  angel,  should  consider  it  unlawful  for  us  to  com- 
municate with  our  departed  relatives.  I  cannot  see  the  difference 
in  iniquity  between  speaking  to  John  Powles,  who  was  and  is 
a  dear  and  trusted  friend  of  mine,  and  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara, 
who  is  an  old  man  whom  I  have  never  seen  in  this  life.  They 
are  both  men,  both  mortal,  and  are  both  spirits.  Again,  my 
mother,  who  was  a  pious  woman  all  her  life,  and  is  now  in  the 
other  world,  would  be  just  as  likely  to  take  an  interest  in  my 
welfare  and  to  try  and  promote  the  prospect  of  our  future  meeting 
as  Saint  Veronica  Guiliani,  who  is  my  patron.  Yet  were  I  to 
spend  half  my  time  in  prayer  before  Saint  Veronica's  altar,  asking 
help  and  guidance,  I  should  be  doing  right  (according  to  the 
church),  but  if  I  did  the  same  thing  at  my  mother's  grave,  or 
spoke  to  her  at  a  seance,  I  should  be  doing  wrong.  These  dis- 
tinctions without  a  difference  were  hard  nuts  to  crack,  and  I  was 
bound  to  settle  the  matter  with  my  conscience  before  I  went  on 
with  my  investigations. 

It  is  a  fact  that  I  have  met  quite  as  many  Catholics  as  Protes- 
tants (especially  of  the  higher  classes),  among  the  investigators 
of  Spiritualism,  and  I  have  not  been  surprised  at  it,  for  who 


Florence  Marry  at.  201 

could  better  understand  and  appreciate  the  beauty  of  communi- 
cations from  the  spirit  world  than  the  members  of  that  church 
which  instructs  us  to  believe  in  the  communion  of  saints,  as  an 
ever-present  though  invisible  mystery.  Whether  my  church  ac- 
quaintances had  received  permission  to  attend  seances  or  not 
was  no  concern  of  mine,  but  I  took  good  care  to  procure  it  for 
myself  and  I  record  it  here,  because  rumors  have  constantly 
reached  me  of  people  having  said  behind  my  back  that  I  can  be 
*•'  no  Catholic  "  because  I  am  a  Spiritualist. 

My  director  at  that  time  was  Father  Dalgairn,  of  the  Oratory 
at  Brompton,  and  it  was  to  him  I  took  my  difficulty.  I  was  a 
very  constant  press  writer  and  reviewer,  and  to  be  unable  to  attend 
and  report  on  Spiritualistic  meetings  would  have  seriously  mili- 
tated against  my  professional  interests.  I  represented  this  to 
the  Father,  and  (although  under  protest),  I  received  his  permis- 
sion to  pursue  the  research  in  the  cause  of  science.  He  did  more 
than  ease  my  conscience.  He  became  interested  in  what  I  had  to 
tell  him  on  the  subject,  and  we  had  many  conversations  concern- 
ing it.  He  also  lent  me  from  his  own  library  the  lives  of  such 
saints  as  had  heard  voices  and  seen  visions,  of  those  who  in 
fact  (like  myself)  had  been  the  victims  of  "  Optical  Illusions." 
Amongst  these  I  found  the  case  of  Saint  Anne  Catherine  of 
Emmerich,  so  like  my  own  that  I  began  to  think  that  I  too  might 
turn  out  a  saint  in  disguise. 

She  used  to  see  the  spirits  floating  beside  her  as  she  walked 
to  mass,  and  heard  them  asking  her  to  pray  for  them  as  they 
pointed  to  "  less  taches  sur  leurs  robes."  The  musical  instru- 
ments used  to  play  with  out  hands  in  her  presence,  and  voices 
from  invisible  throats  sound  in  her  ears,  as  they  have  done  in 
mine.  I  have  only  inserted  these  claims,  however,  for  the  satis- 
faction of  those  Catholic  acquaintances  with  whom  I  have  sat 
at  seances,  and  who  will  probably  be  the  first  to  exclaim  against 
the  publication  of  our  joint  experiences.  I  trust  they  will  ac- 
knowledge, after  reading  it,  that  I  am  not  worse  than  themselves, 
though  I  myself  may  be  a  little  bolder  in  avowing  my  opinions. 

Before  I  began  this  chapter,  I  had  an  argument  with  that 
friend  of  mine  called  Self  (who  has  often  worsted  me  in 
the  Battle  of  Life),  as  to  whether  I  should  say  anything  about 


202  Book  of  Knowledge. 

table  rapping  or  tilting.  The  very  fact  of  so  common  an  article 
of  furniture  as  a  table,  as  an  agent  with  the  unseen  world,  has 
excited  so  much  ridicule  and  opens  so  wide  a  field  for  chicanery, 
that  I  throught  it  would  be  better  to  drop  the  subject  and  con- 
fine myself  to  those  phases  of  the  science,  or  art,  or  religion,  or 
whatever  the  reader  may  call  it,  that  can  be  described  or  explained 
on  paper.  The  philosophers  of  the  nineteenth  century  have  in- 
vented so  many  manners  for  the  cause  that  makes  a  table  turn 
round,  tilt,  or  rap,  that  I  feel  quite  unable  (not  being  a  philos- 
opher), to  cope  with  them.  It  is  "  magnetic  force  "  or  "  psychic 
force ;  "  it  is  ''  unconscious  cerebration  "  or  *'  brain-reading," 
and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  tell  the  outside  world  of  the  pri- 
vate reasons  that  convince  individuals  that  the  answers  they 
receive  are  not  emanations  from  their  own  brains.  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  refute  their  reasonings  from  their  own  standpoint.  I 
see  the  difficulties  in  the  way  so  much  that  I  have  persistently 
refused  for  many  years  to  sit  at  the  table  with  strangers,  for  it 
is  only  a  lengthened  study  of  the  matter  that  can  positively  con- 
vince a  person  of  its  truth.  I  cannot,  however,  see  the  extreme 
folly  myself  of  holding  communication  (under  the  circum- 
stances), through  the  raps  or  tilts  of  a  table,  or  any  other  object. 
These  tiny  indications  of  an  influence  ulterior  to  our  own  are 
not  necessarily  confined  to  the  table.  I  have  received  them 
through  a  cardboard  box,  a  gentleman's  hat,  a  footstool,  the 
strings  of  a  guitar,  on  the  back  of  my  chair,  even  on  the  pillow 
of  my  bed.  And  which,  among  the  philosophers  I  allude  to, 
could  suggest  a  smiilar  mode  of  communication  ? 

I  have  put  the  question  to  clever  men,  thus :  "  Suppose  your- 
self, after  being  able  to  write  and  talk  to  me,  suddenly  deprived 
of  the  powers  of  speech  and  touch,  and  made  invisible,  so  that 
we  could  not  understand  each  other  by  signs,  what  better  means 
than  by  taps  and  tilts  on  any  article  when  the  right  word  or  letter 
is  named,  could  you  think  of  by  which  to  communicate  with 
me?" 

And  my  clever  men  have  never  been  able  to  propose  an  easier 
or  more  sensible  plan,  and  if  anybody  can  suggest  one  I  should 
very  much  like  to  hear  it.  The  following  incidents  all  took  place 
through  the  much  ridiculed  tipping  of  the  table,  but  managed  to 


Florence  Marryat.  203 

knock  some  sense  out  of  it,  nevertheless.  On  looking  over  the 
note  book  which  I  faithfully  kept  when  we  first  held  seances  at 
home,  I  find  many  cases  of  identity  which  took  place,  through 
my  mediumship,  and  which  could  not  possibly  have  been  the 
effects  of  mind-reading.  I  devote  this  chapter  to  their  relation. 
I  hope  it  will  be  observed  with  what  admirable  caution  I  have 
headed  it.  I  have  a  few  drops  of  Scotch  blood  in  me  by  the 
mother's  side,  and  I  think  they  must  have  aided  me  here. 
"  Curious  Coincidences."  Why,  not  the  most  captious  and  un- 
believing critic  of  them  all  can  find  fault  with  so  modest  and 
unbelieving  a  title.  Every  one  believes  in  the  occasional  possi- 
bility of  "  curious  coincidences." 

It  was  not  until  the  month  of  June,  1873,  that  we  formed  a 
home  circle  and  commenced  regularly  to  sit  together.  We  be- 
came so  interested  in  the  pursuit  that  we  used  to  sit  every  evening, 
and  sometimes  till  three  or  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  greatly 
to  our  detriment,  both  mental  and  physical.  We  seldom  sat  alone, 
being  joined  by  two  or  three  friends  from  outside,  and  the  results 
were  sometimes  very  startling,  as  we  were  a  strong  circle.  The 
memoranda  of  these  sittings,  sometimes  with  one  party  and  some- 
times with  another,  extended  over  a  period  of  years,  but  I  shall 
restrict  myself  to  relating  a  few  incidents  that  were  verified 
by  subsequent  events. 

The  means  by  which  we  communicated  with  the  influences 
around  us  was  the  usual  one.  We  sat  round  the  table  and  laid 
our  hands  upon  it,  and  I  (or  any  one  who  might  be  selected  for 
the  purpose),  spelled  over  the  alphabet,  and  raps  or  tilts  occurred 
when  the  desired  letter  was  reached.  This  in  reality  is  not  so 
tedious  a  process  as  it  may  appear,  and  once  used  to  it,  one  may 
get  through  a  vast  amount  of  conversation  in  an  hour  by  this 
means.  The  medium  is  soon  able  to  guess  the  word  intended  to 
be  spelled  for  there  are  not  so  many,  after  all,  in  use  in  general 
conversation. 

Some  one  had  come  to  our  table  on  several  occasions,  giving 
the  name  of  "  Valerie,"  but  refusing  to  say  any  more,  so  we 
thought  she  was  an  idle  or  frivolous  spirit,  and  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  driving  her  away.  One  evening  on  the  first  of  July, 
however,  our  circle  was  augmented  by  Mr.  Henry  Stacke,  when 


204  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  Valerie  "  was  immediately  spelt  out,  and  the  following  conversa- 
tion ensued.  Mr.  Stacke  said  to  me,  "  Who  is  this  ?  "  and  I  re- 
plied carelessly,  "  O !  she's  a  little  devil !  She  never  has  anything 
to  say."  The  table  rocked  violently  at  this,  and  the  table  spelt 
put: 

"  Je  ne  suis  pas  diable." 

"  Hello !     Valerie,  so  you  can  talk  now !     For  whom  do  you 
come  ?  " 

"  Monsieur  Stacke." 

"  Where  did  you  meet  him  ?  ** 

"On  the  Continent." 
'       "Whereabouts?" 

"  Between  Dijon  and  Macon." 

"  How  did  you  meet  him  ?  " 

"  In  a  railway  carriage." 

"  What  were  you  doing  there  ?  " 

Here  she  relapsed  into  French,  and  said: 

"  Ce  m'est  impossible  de  dire." 

At  this  juncture  Mr.  Stacke  observed  that  he  had  never  been 
in  a  train  between  Dijon  and  Macon  but  once  in  his  life,  and  if 
the  spirit  was  with  him  then,  she  must  remember  what  was  the 
matter  with  their  fellow-passenger. 

"  Mais  oui,  oui — il  etait  fou,"  she  replied,  which  proved  to  be 
perfectly  correct.  Mr.  Stacke  also  remembered  that  two  ladies 
in  the  same  carriage  had  been  dreadfully  frightened,  and  he  had 
assisted  them  to  get  into  another.  "  Valerie  "  continued,  "  Priez 
pour  moi." 

"  Pourquoi,  Valerie  ?  " 

"  Parceque  j'ai  beaucoup  peche." 

There  was  an  influence  who  frequented  our  society  at  that 
time  and  called  himself  "  Charlie." 

He  stated  that  his  full  name  had  been  "  Stephen  Charles  Ber- 
nard Abbot,"  that  he  had  been  a  monk  of  great  literary  attain- 
ments— that  he  had  embraced  the  monastic  life  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Mary,  and  apostatized  for  political  reasons  in  that  of 
Elizabeth,  and  been  "  earth  bound  "  in  consequence  ever  since. 

"  Charlie  "  asked  us  to  sing  one  night  and  we  struck  up  the 
very  vulgar  refrain  of  "  Champagne  Charlie,"  to  which  he  greatly 


Florence  Marryat,  205 

objected,  asking  for  something  more  serious.  I  began  "Ye 
banks  and  braes  o'  bonnie  Doon." 

"  Why  that's  as  bad  as  the  other,"  said  Charlie.  "  It  was  a 
ribald  and  obscene  song  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth.  The  drunken 
roysterers  used  to  sing  it  in  the  street  as  they  rolled  home  at 
night." 

"  You  must  be  mistaken,  Charlie,  it  is  a  well  known  Scotch 
air. 

"  It  is  no  more  Scotch  than  I  am,"  he  replied.  "  The  Scotch 
say  they  invented  everything.  It's  a  tune  of  the  time  of  Eliza- 
beth.   Ask  Brinley  Richards." 

"  Having  the  acquaintance  of  that  gentleman,  who  was  the 
great  authority  on  the  origin  of  national  ballads,  I  applied  to 
him  for  the  information,  and  received  an  answer  to  say  that 
"  Charlie  "  was  right,  but  that  Mr.  Richards  had  not  been  aware 
of  the  fact  himself  until  he  searched  some  old  MSS.  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  truth. 

I  was  giving  a  sitting  once  to  an  officer  from  Aldershot,  a 
cousin  of  mine,  who  was  quite  prepared  to  ridicule  everything 
that  took  place.  After  having  teased  me  into  giving  him  a 
seance  he  began  by  cheating  himself  and  then  accused  me  of 
cheating  him,  and  altogether  tired  out  my  patience.  At  last  I 
proposed  a  test,  though  with  little  hope  of  success. 

"  Let  us  ask  John  Powles  to  go  down  to  Aldershot,"  I  said, 
"  and  bring  word  what  your  brother  officers  are  doing." 

"  O,  yes !  by  Jove !  Capital  idea !  You  fellow  Powles,  cut 
off  to  camp,  will  you,  and  go  to  the  barracks  of  the  84th,  and  let 

us  know  what  Major  R is  doing."    The  message  came  back 

in  about  three  minutes.     "  Major  R has  just  come  in  from 

duty,"  spelt  out  Powles.  "  He  is  sitting  on  the  side  of  his  bed, 
changing  his  uniform  trousers  for  a  pair  of  gray  tweed." 

"  I  am  sure  that's  wrong,"  said  my  cousin,  "  because  the  men 
are  never  called  out  at  this  time  of  day." 

It  was  then  four  o'clock  as  we  had  been  careful  to  ascertain. 
My  cousin  returned  to  camp  the  same  evening,  and  the  next  day 
I  received  a  note  from  him  saying,  "  That  fellow  Powles  is  a 

brick.     It  was  quite  right.     R was  unexpectedly  ordered  to 

turn  out  his  company  yesterday  afternoon,  and  he  returned  to  the 


2o6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

barracks  and  changed  his  things  for  the  gray  tweed  suit,  exactly 
at  four  o'clock." 

But  I  have  always  found  my  friend  Powles  (when  he  will 
condescend  to  do  anything  for  strangers,  which  is  seldom),  re- 
markably correct  in  detailing  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  the 
absentees,  sometimes  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe. 

I  went  one  afternoon  to  pay  an  ordinary  social  call  on  a  lady 
named  Mrs.  W ,  and  found  her  engaged  in  an  earnest  con- 
versation on  Spiritualism  with  a  stout  woman  and  a  common- 
place »man — two  as  material  looking  individuals  as  ever  I  saw, 
and  who  appeared  all  the  more  so  under  a  sultry  August  sun. 

As  soon  as  Mrs.  W saw  me  she  exclaimed,  "  O !  here  is* 

Mrs.  Ross-Church.  She  will  tell  you  all  about  the  spirits.  Do, 
Mrs.  Ross-Church,  sit  down  at  the  table  and  let  us  have  a  seance." 

A  seance  on  a  burning,  blazing  afternoon  in  August,  with 
two  solid  and  uninteresting,  and  worse  still  uninterested  looking 

strangers,  who  appeared  to  think  Mrs.  W had  a  "  bee  in  her 

bonnet."  I  protested — I  reasoned — I  pleaded — all  in  vain.  My 
hostess  continued  to  urge  and  society  places  the  guest  at  the  mercy 
of  her  hostess.  So,  in  an  evil  temper,  I  pulled  off  my  gloves  and 
placed  my  hands  indifferently  on  the  table.  The  following  words 
were  at  once  rapped  out: 

"  I  am  Edward  G .  Did  you  ever  pay  Johnson  the  seven- 
teen pounds  twelve  you  received  for  my  saddlery  ?  " 

The  gentleman  opposite  me  turned  all  sorts  of  colors,  and 
began  to  stammer  out  a  reply,  while  his  wife  looked  very  con- 
fused. I  asked  the  influence,  "  Who  are  you  ?  "  It  replied,  "  He 
knows!  His  late  colonel!  Why  hasn't  Johnson  received  that 
money  ?  " 

This  is  what  I  call  an  awkward  coincidence,  and  I  have 
had  many  such  occur  through  me — some  that  have  driven  ac- 
quaintances away  from  the  table,  vowing  vengeance  against  me, 
and  racking  their  brains  to  discover  who  had  told  me  their  secret 
peccadilloes.  The  gentleman  in  question  (whose  name,  even,  I 
do  not  remember),  confessed  that  the  identity  and  main  points 
of  the  message  were  true,  but  he  did  not  confide  to  us  whether 
Johnson  had  ever  received  that  seventeen  pounds  twelve. 

I  had  a  beautiful  English  greyhound,  called  "  Clytie  "  a  gift 


Florence  Marryat.  207 

from  Annie  Thomas  to  me,  and  this  dog  was  given  to  straying 
from  my  house  in  Colville  Road,  Bayswater,  which  runs  parallel 
to  Portobello  Road,  a  rather  objectionable  quarter,  composed  of 
inferior  shops,  one  of  which,  a  fried  fish  shop,  was  an  intolerable 
nuisance,  and  used  to  fill  the  air  around  with  its  rich  perfume. 
On  one  occasion,  "  Clytie  "  stayed  away  from  home  so  much 
longer  than  usual  that  I  was  afraid  she  was  lost  in  good  earnest, 
and  posted  bills  offering  a  reward  for  her.  "  Charlie  "  came  to 
the  table  and  said  that  evening,  "  Don't  offer  a  reward  for  the  dog. 
Send  for  her." 

"  She  is  tied  up  at  the  fried  fish  shop  in  Portobello  Road. 
Send  the  cook  to  see." 

I  told  the  servant  in  question  that  I  had  heard  that  the  grey- 
hound was  detained  at  the  fish  shop  and  sent  her  to  inquire.  She 
returned  with  "  Clytie."  Her  account  was  that  on  making  in- 
quiries the  man  in  the  shop  had  been  very  insolent  to  her  and 
she  had  raised  her  voice  in  reply;  that  she  had  then  heard  and 
recognized  the  sharp,  peculiar  bark  of  the  greyhound  from  an 
upper  story,  and  running  up  before  the  man  could  prevent  her, 
she  had  found  ''  Clytie  "  tied  up  to  a  bedstead  with  a  piece  of 
rope,  and  had  called  in  a  policeman  to  enable  her  to  take  the  dog 
away.  I  have  often  heard  the  assertion  that  Spiritualism  does 
no  practical  good,  and,  doubtless,  it  was  never  intended  to  do  so, 
but  this  incident  was,  at  least,  an  exception  to  this  rule. 

When  abroad  on  one  occasion,  I  was  asked  by  a  Catholic 
Abbe  to  sit  with  him.  He  had  never  seen  any  manifestations  be- 
fore, and  he  did  not  believe  in  them,  but  he  was  curious  on  the 
subject.  I  knew  nothing  of  him  further  than  that  he  was  a  priest 
and  a  Jesuit,  and  a  great  friend  of  my  sister's,  at  whose  house  I 
was  staying.  He  spoke  English,  and  the  conversation  was  carried 
on  in  that  language.  He  had  told  me  before  that  if  he  could 
receive  a  perfectly  private  test  he  would  never  doubt  the 
truth  of  the  manifestations  again.  I  left  him  therefore  to  con- 
duct the  investigations  entirely  by  himself,  I  acted  only  as  the 
medium  between  him  and  the  influence.  As  soon  as  the  table 
moved,  he  put  his  question  direct,  without  asking  who  was  there 
to  answer  it. 

"  Where  is  my  chasuble  ?  " 


2o8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Now  a  priest's  chasuble,  /  should  have  said,  must  be  either 
hanging  in  the  sacristy  or  packed  away  at  home,  or  been  sent 
away  to  be  altered  or  mended.  But  the  answer  was  different 
from  all  my  speculations. 

"  At  the  bottom  of  the  Red  Sea." 

The  priest  started,  but  continued: 

"Who  put  it  there?" 

*'  Elias  Dodo." 

"  What  was  his  object  in  doing  so?  " 

"  He  found  the  parcel  a  burden,  and  did  not  expect  any  re- 
ward for  delivering  it." 

The  Abbe  really  looked  as  if  he  had  encountered  the  devil. 
He  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead,  and  put  one  more 
question. 

"  Of  what  was  my  chasuble  made  ?  " 

"  You  sister's  wedding  dress." 

The  priest  then  explained  to  me  that  his  sister  had  made  him 
a  chasuble  out  of  her  wedding  dress — one  of  the  forms  of  re- 
turning thanks  to  the  church,  but  that  after  awhile  it  became  old 
fashioned,  and  the  bishop  going  his  rounds,  ordered  him  to  get 
another.  He  did  not  like  to  throw  away  his  sister's  gift,  so  he 
sent  the  old  chasuble  to  a  priest  in  India,  where  they  were  very 
poor,  and  not  so  particular  as  to  fashion.  He  confided  the 
package  to  a  man  called  Elias  Dodo,  a  sufficiently  singular  name, 
but  neither  he  nor  the  priest  he  sent  it  to  had  ever  heard  any- 
thing more  of  the  chasuble  or  the  young  man  who  had  promised 
to  deliver  it. 

A  young  artist  of  the  name  of  Courtney  was  a  visitor  at  my 
house.  He  asked  me  to  sit  with  him  alone,  when  the  table  began 
wrapping  out  a  number  of  consonants — a  farrago  of  nonsense, 
it  appeared  to  me,  and  I  stopped  and  said  so.  But  Mr.  Courtney, 
who  appeared  much  interested,  begged  me  to  proceed.  When 
the  communication  was  finished  he  said  to  me,  "  This  is  the  most 
wonderful  thing  I  have  ever  heard.  My  father  has  been  at  the 
table  talking  to  me  in  Welsh.  He  has  told  me  our  family  motto, 
and  all  about  my  birth-place  and  relations  in  Wales."  I  said, 
*'  I  never  heard  you  were  a  Welshman."  "  Yes,  I  am,"  he  replied, 
*'  my  real  name  is  Powell.  I  have  only  adopted  the  name  of 
Courtney  for  professional  purposes." 


Florence  Marry  at.  209 

This  was  news  to  me,  but  had  it  not  been,  I  cannot  speak 
Welsh. 

I  could  multiply  such  cases  by  the  dozen,  but  that  I  fear  to 
tire  my  readers,  added  to  which  the  majority  of  them  were  of  so 
strictly  private  a  nature  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  put  them 
into  print.  This  is  perhaps  the  greatest  drawback  that  one  en- 
counters in  trying  to  prove  the  truth  of  Spiritualism.  The  best 
tests  we  receive  are  when  the  very  secrets  of  our  hearts,  which 
we  have  not  confided  to  our  nearest  friends,  are  revealed  to  us. 
I  could  relate  (had  I  the  permission  of  the  friends  most  inter- 
ested), the  particulars  of  a  well-known  law  suit,  in  which  the 
requisite  evidence  and  names  and  addresses  of  witnesses  were  all 
given  through  my  mediumship,  and  were  the  cause  of  the  case 
being  gained  by  the  side  that  came  to  me  for  information.  Some 
of  the  coincidences  I  have  related  in  this  chapter  might,  however, 
be  ascribed  by  the  skeptical  to  the  mysterious  and  unknown  power 
of  brain  reading,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  however  it  may  come, 
apart  from  mediumship ;  but  how  one  is  to  account  for  the  facts 
I  shall  tell  you  in  my  next  chapter. 

THE  MEDIUMSHIP  OF  FLORENCE  COOK. 

In  writing  of  my  own  mediumship,  or  the  mediumship  of  any 
other  person,  I  wish  it  particularly  to  be  understood  that  I  do 
not  intend  my  narrative  to  be,  by  any  means,  an  account  of  all 
seances  held  under  that  control  (for  were  I  to  include  everything 
that  I  have  seen  and  heard  during  my  researches  into  Spiritual- 
ism, this  volume  would  swell  to  unconscionable  dimensions),  but 
only  of  certain  events  which  I  believe  to  be  remarkable,  and  not 
enjoyed  by  every  one  in  like  measure.  Most  people  have  read  of 
the  ordinary  phenomena  that  take  place  at  such  meetings.  My 
readers,  therefore,  will  find  no  description  here  of  marvels  which 
— whether  true  or  false — can  be  accounted  for  upon  natural 
grounds. 

Miss  Florence  Cook,  now  Mrs.  Elgie  Corner,  is  one  of  the 
media  who  have  been  most  talked  of  and  written  about.  Mr. 
Alfred  Crookes  took  an  immense  interest  in  her,  and  published 
a  long  account  of  his  investigation  of  Spiritualism  under  her 


2IO  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mediumship.  Mr.  Henry  Dunphy,  of  the  Morning  Post,  wrote 
a  series  of  papers  for  London  Society  (of  which  magazine  I 
was  then  the  editor),  describing  her  powers,  and  the  proof  she 
gave  of  them.  The  first  time  I  ever  met  Florence  Cook  was  in 
his  private  house,  when  my  little  daughter  appeared  through  her 
(vide  "  The  Story  of  My  Spirit  Child.")  On  that  occasion,  as 
we  were  sitting  at  supper  after  the  seance — a  party  of  perhaps 
thirty  people — the  whole  dinner  table,  with  everything  upon  it, 
rose  bodily  in  the  air  to  a  level  with  our  knees,  and  the  dishes  and 
glasses  swayed  about  in  a  perilous  manner,  without,  however, 
coming  to  any  permanent  harm.  I  was  so  much  astonished  at, 
and  interested  by,  what  I  saw  that  evening,  that  I  became  most 
anxious  to  make  the  personal  acquaintance  of  Miss  Cook.  She 
was  the  medium  for  the  celebrated  spirit,  "  Katie  King,"  of  whom 
so  much  has  been  believed  and  disbelieved,  and  the  seances  she 
gave  at  her  parents'  house  in  Hackney  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
this  figure  alone  used  to  be  crowded  by  the  cleverest  and  most 
scientific  men  of  the  day,  Sergeants  Cox  and  Ballantyne,  Mr. 
S.  C.  Hall,  Mr.  Alfred  Crookes,  and  many  others,  being  on  terms 
of  the  greatest  intimacy  with  her.  Mr.  William  Harrison,  of  the 
Spiritualist,  was  the  one  to  procure  me  an  introduction  to  the 
family  and  an  entrance  to  the  seances,  for  which  I  shall  always 
feel  grateful  to  him. 

For  the  benefit  of  the  uninitiated,  let  me  begin  by  telling  who 
"  Katie  King  "  was  supposed  to  be.  Her  account  of  herself  was 
that  her  name  was  "  Annie  Owens  Morgan ; "  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Morgan,  a  famous  buccaneer  who  lived 
about  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  suffered  death  upon 
the  high  seas,  being,  in  fact,  a  pirate ;  that  she  herself  was  about 
twelve  years  old  when  Charles  the  First  was  beheaded;  that  she 
married  and  had  two  little  children;  that  she  committed  more 
crimes  than  we  would  like  to  hear  of,  having  murdered  men  with 
her  own  hands,  but  yet  died  quite  young,  at  about  two  or  three 
and  twenty.  To  all  questions  concerning  the  reason  of  her  re- 
appearance on  earth,  she  returned  but  one  answer,  that  it  was 
part  of  the  work  given  her  to  do  to  convince  the  world  of  the 
truth  of  Spiritualism.  This  was  the  information  I  received  from 
her  own  lips.    She  had  appeared  to  the  Cook's  some  years  before 


Florence  Marryat.  ,        an 

I  saw  her,  and  had  become  so  much  one  of  the  family  as  to  walk 
about  the  house  at  all  times  without  alarming  the  inmates.  She 
often  materialized  and  got  into  bed  with  her  medium  at  night, 
much  to  Florrie's  annoyance;  and  after  Miss  Cook's  marriage 
to  Captain  Corner,  he  told  me  himself  that  he  used  to  feel  at  first 
as  if  he  had  married  two  women,  and  was  not  quite  sure  which 
was  his  wife  of  the  two. 

The  order  of  these  seances  was  always  the  same.  Miss  Cook 
retired  to  a  back  room,  divided  from  the  audience  by  a  thin 
damask  curtain,  and  presently  the  form  of  ''  Katie  King  "  would 
appear  dressed  in  white,  and  walk  out  amongst  the  sitters  in  gas- 
light, and  talk  like  one  of  themselves.  Florence  Cook  (as  I  men- 
tioned before),  is  a  very  small,  slight  brunette,  with  dark  eyes  and 
dark  curly  hair,  and  a  delicate  aquiline  nose.  Sometimes  "  Katie  " 
resembled  her  exactly ;  at  others,  she  was  totally  different.  Some- 
times, too,  she  measured  the  same  height  as  her  medium;  at 
others,  she  was  much  taller.  I  have  a  large  photograph  of  "Katie," 
taken  under  lime-light.  In  it  she  appears  as  the  double  of  Florrie 
Cook,  yet  Florrie  was  looking  on  whilst  the  picture  was  taken. 
I  have  sat  for  her  several  times  with  Mr.  Crookes,  and  seen  the 
tests  applied  which  are  mentioned  in  his  book  on  the  subject. 
I  have  seen  Florrie's  dark  curls  nailed  down  to  the  floor,  outside 
the  curtain,  in  view  of  the  audience,  whilst  "  Katie  "  walked  about 
and  talked  with  us.  I  have  seen  Florrie  placed  on  the  scale  of  a 
weighing  machine  constructed  by  Mr.  Crookes  for  the  purpose, 
behind  the  curtain,  whilst  the  balance  remained  in  sight.  I  have 
seen  under  these  circumstances  that  the  medium  weighed  eight 
stone  in  a  normal  condition,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  materialized 
form  was  fully  developed,  the  balance  ran  up  to  four  stone. 
Moreover,  I  have  seen  both  Florrie  and  "  Katie  "  together  on 
several  occasions,  so  I  can  have  no  doubt  on  the  subject  that  they 
were  two  separate  creatures.  Still,  I  can  quite  understand  how 
difficult  it  must  have  been  for  strangers  to  compare  the  strong 
likeness  that  existed  between  the  medium  and  the  spirit,  without 
suspecting  that  they  were  one  and  the  same  person.  One  evening 
"  Katie "  walked  out  and  perched  herself  upon  my  knee.  I 
could  feel  she  was  a  much  plumper  and  heavier  woman  than 
Miss  Cook,  but  she  wonderfully  resembled  her  in  features,  and 


212  Book  of  Knowledge. 

I  told  her  so.  "  Katie  "  did  not  seem  to  consider  it  a  compliment. 
She  shrugged  her  shoulders,  made  a  grimace,  and  said,  "  I  know 
I  am;  I  can't  help  it,  but  I  was  much  prettier  than  that  in  earth 
life.  You  shall  see,  some  day — you  shall  see."  After  she  had 
finally  retired  that  evening,  she  put  her  head  out  at  the  curtain 
again  and  said,  with  the  strong  lisp  she  always  had,  "  I  want 
Mrs.  Ross-Church,"  I  rose  and  went  to  her,  when  she  pulled  me 
inside  the  curtain,  when  I  found  it  was  so  thin  that  the  gas 
shining  through  it  from  the  outer  room  made  everything  in 
the  inner  quite  visible.  "  Katie  "  pulled  my  dress  impatiently 
and  said,  "  Sit  down  on  the  ground,"  which  I  did.  She  then 
seated  herself  in  my  lap,  saying,  "  And  now,  dear,  we'll  have  a 
good  confab,  like  women  do  on  earth."  Florence  Cook,  mean- 
while, was  lying  on  a  mattress  on  the  ground,  close  to  us, 
wrapped  in  a  deep  trance.  "  Katie "  seemed  very  anxious  I 
should  ascertain  beyond  doubt  that  it  was  Florrie.  "  Touch  her," 
she  said,  "  take  her  hand,  pull  her  curls.  Do  you  see  that  it  is 
Florrie  lying  there  ?  "  When  I  assured  her  I  was  quite  satisfied 
there  was  no  doubt  of  it,  the  spirit  said,  "  Then  look  round  this 
way,  and  see  what  I  was  like  in  earth  life."  I  turned  to  the  form 
in  my  arms,  and  what  was  my  amazement  to  see  a  woman  fair 
as  the  day,  with  large  gray  or  blue  eyes,  a  white  skin,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  golden  red  hair.  "  Katie  "  enjoyed  my  surprise,  and 
asked  me  "  Ain't  I  prettier  than  Florrie  now  ?  "  she  then  rose 
and  procured  a  pair  of  scissors  from  the  table,  and  cut  oflf  a  lock 
of  her  own  hair  and  a  lock  of  the  medium's,  and  gave  them  to 
me.  I  have  them  to  this  day.  One  is  almost  black,  soft  and 
silky;  the  other  a  coarse  golden  red.  After  she  had  made  me 
this  present,  "  Katie "  said,  "  Go  back  now,  but  don't  tell  the 
others  to-night,  or  they'll  all  want  to  see  me."  On  another  warm 
evening  she  sat  on  my  lap  amongst  the  audience,  and  I  felt  per- 
spiration on  her  arm.  This  surprised  me;  and  I  asked  her,  if, 
for  the  time  being,  she  had  the  nerves,  veins  and  secretions  of  a 
human  being;  if  blood  ran  through  her  body,  and  she  had  a 
heart  and  lungs.  Her  answer  was,  "  I  have  everything  that 
Florrie  has."  On  that  occasion  also  she  called  me  after  her 
into  the  back  room,  and  dropping  her  white  robe,  stood  per- 
fectly naked  before  me.    "  Now,"  she  said,  "  you  can  see  that  I 


Florence  Marryat.  213 

am  a  woman."  Which  indeed  she  was,  and  a  most  beautifully 
made  woman  too;  and  I  examined  her  well,  whilst  Miss  Cook 
lay  beside  us  on  the  floor.  Instead  of  dismissing  me  this  time, 
"  Katie  "  told  me  to  sit  down  by  the  medium,  and,  having  brought 
me  a  candle  and  matches,  said  I  was  to  strike  a  light  as  soon  as 
she  gave  three  knocks,  as  Florrie  would  be  hysterical  on  awaken- 
ing, and  need  my  assistance.  She  then  knelt  down  and  kissed 
me,  and  I  saw  she  was  still  naked.  "  Where  is  your  dress, 
Katie?  "  I  asked.  "  Oh,  that's  gone,"  she  said,  "  I've  sent  it  on 
before  me."  As  she  spoke  thus,  kneeling  beside  me,  she  rapped 
three  times  on  the  floor.  I  struck  the  match  almost  simultan- 
eously with  the  signal ;  but  as  it  flared  up,  "  Katie  King  "  was 
gone  like  a  flash  of  lightning  and  Miss  Cook,  as  she  had  predicted, 
awoke  with  a  burst  of  frightened  tears,  and  had  to  be  soothed, 
into  tranquility  again.  On  another  occasion  "  Katie  King " 
was  asked  at  the  beginning  of  the  seance,  by  one  of  the  company, 
to  say  why  she  could  not  appear  in  the  light  of  more  than  one 
gas  burner.  The  question  seemed  to  irritate  her,  and  she  replied, 
"  I  have  told  you  all,  several  times  before,  that  I  can't  stay  under 
a  searching  light.  I  don't  know  why;  but  I  can't,  and  if  you 
want  to  prove  the  truth  of  what  I  say,  turn  up  all  the  gas  and 
see  what  will  happen  to  me.  Only  remember,  if  you  do  there  will 
be  no  seance  to-night,  because  I  shan't  be  able  to  come  back 
again,  and  you  must  take  your  choice." 

Upon  this  assertion  it  was  put  to  the  vote  if  the  trial  should 
be  made  or  not,  and  all  present  (Mr.  S.  C.  Hall  was  one  of  the 
party),  decided  we  would  prefer  to  witness  the  effect  of  a  full 
glare  upon  the  materialized  form  than  to  have  the  usual  sitting, 
as  it  would  settle  the  vexed  question  of  the  necessity  of  gloom 
(if  not  darkness)  for  a  materializing  seance  forever.  We  accord- 
ingly told  "  Katie  "  of  our  choice,  and  she  consented  to  stand  the 
test,  though  she  said  afterwards  we  had  put  her  to  much  pain. 
She  took  up  her  station  against  the  drawing-room  wall,  with 
her  arms  extended  as  if  she  were  crucified.  Then  three  gas- 
burners  were  turned  on  their  full  extent  in  a  room  about  sixteen 
feet  square.  The  effect  on  "  Katie  King  "  was  marvellous.  She 
looked  like  herself  for  the  space  of  a  second  only,  then  she  begari 
gradually  to  melt  away.    I  can  compare  the  dematerialization  of 


214  Book  of  Knowledge. 

her  form  to  nothing  but  a  wax  doll  melting  before  a  hot  fire. 
First,  the  features  became  blurred  and  indistinct;  they  seemed 
to  run  into  each  other.  The  eyes  sunk  in  the  sockets,  the  nose 
disappeared,  the  frontal  bone  fell  in.  Next  the  limbs  appeared 
to  give  way  under  her  and  she  sank  lower  and  lower  on  the 
carpet  like  a  crumbling  edifice.  At  last  there  was  nothing  but 
her  head  left  above  the  ground — then  a  heap  of  white  drapery 
only,  which  disappeared  with  a  whisk,  as  if  a  hand  had  pulled  it 
after  her — and  we  were  left  staring  by  the  light  of  three  gas- 
burners  at  the  spot  on  which  "  Katie  King  "  had  stood. 

She  was  always  attired  in  white  drapery,  but  it  varied  in 
quality.  Sometimes  it  looked  like  long  cloth ;  at  others  it  looked 
like  mull  muslin  or  jaconet;  oftenest  it  was  a  species  of  thick 
cotton  net.  The  sitters  were  much  given  to  asking  *'  Katie  "  for 
a  piece  of  her  dress  to  keep  as  a  souvenir  of  their  visit ;  and  when 
they  received  it  would  seal  it  up  carefully  in  an  envelope  and 
convey  it  home,  and  were  much  surprised  on  examining  their 
treasure  to  find  it  had  totally  disappeared. 

"  Katie  "  used  to  say  that  nothing  material  about  her  could 
be  made  to  last  without  taking  away  some  of  the  medium's 
vitality,  and  weakening  her  in  consequence.  One  evening,  when 
she  was  cutting  off  pieces  of  her  dress  rather  lavishly,  I  remarked, 
that  it  would  require  a  great  deal  of  mending.  She  answered, 
''  rU  show  you  how  we  mend  dresses  in  the  Spirit  World."  She 
then  doubled  up  the  front  breadth  of  her  garment  a  dozen  times, 
and  cut  two  or  three  round  holes  in  it.  I  am  sure  when  she 
let  it  fall  again  there  must  have  been  thirty  or  forty  holes,  and 
''  Katie  "  said,  "  Isn't  that  a  nice  cullender  ? "  She  then  com- 
menced, while  we  stood  close  to  her,  to  shake  her  skirt  gently 
about,  and  in  a  minute  it  was  as  perfect  as  before,  without  a 
hole  to  be  seen.  When  we  expressed  our  astonishment,  she  told 
me  to  take  the  scissors  and  cut  off  her  hair.  She  had  a  profusion 
of  ringlets  falling  to  her  waist  that  night.  I  obeyed  religiously, 
hacking  the  hair  wherever  I  could,  whilst  she  kept  on  saying, 
"  Cut  more !  Cut  more !  not  for  yourself,  you  know,  because  you 
can't  take  it  away." 

So  I  cut  off  curl  after  curl,  and  as  fast  as  they  fell  to  the 
ground,  the  hair  grew  again  upon  her  head.     When  I  had  fin- 


Florence  Marryat.  215 

ished,  "  Katie  ' '  asked  me  to  examine  her  hair,  to  see  if  I  could 
detect  any  place  where  I  had  used  the  scissors,  and  I  did  so 
without  any  effect.  Neither  was  the  severed  hair  to  be  found.  It 
had  vanished  out  of  sight.  "  Katie  "  was  photographed  many 
times,  by  lime-light,  by  Mr.  Alfred  Crookes,  but  her  portraits  are 
all  too  much  like  her  medium  to  be  of  any  value  in  establishing 
her  claim  to  a  separate  identity.  She  had  always  stated  she 
should  not  appear  on  this  earth  after  the  month  of  May,  1874; 
and  accordingly  on  the  21st  she  assembled  her  friends  to  say 
"  Good-bye  "  to  them,  and  I  was  one  of  the  number.  "  Katie  " 
had  asked  Miss  Cook  to  provide  her  with  a  large  basket  of  flowers 
and  ribbons,  and  she  sat  on  the  floor  and  made  up  a  bouquet  for 
each  of  her  friends  to  keep  in  remembrance  of  her. 

Mine,  which  consisted  of  lilies  of  the  valley  and  pink  ger- 
anium, looks  almost  as  fresh  to-day,  nearly  seventeen  years  after, 
as  it  did  when  she  gave  it  to  me.  It  was  accompanied  by  the 
following  words,  which  "  Katie  "  wrote  on  a  sheet  of  paper  in 
my  presence: 

"  From  Annie  Owen  de  Morgan  (alias  "  Katie ")  to  her 
friend  Florence  Marryat  Ross-Church.  With  love.  Pensez  a 
moi. 

"  May  21,  1874."    . 

The  farewell  scene  was  as  pathetic  as  if  we  had  been  parting 
with  a  dear  companion  by  death.  "  Katie  "  herself  did  not  seem 
to  know  how  to  go.  She  returned  again  and  again  to  have  a  last 
look,  especially  at  Mr.  Alfred  Crookes,  who  was  as  much  attached 
to  her  as  she  was  to  him.  Her  prediction  has  been  fulfilled,  and 
from  that  day  Florence  Cook  never  saw  her  again  nor  heard 
anything  about  her.  Her  place  was  shortly  filled  by  another  in- 
fluence, who  called  herself  "  Marie  "  and  who  danced  and  sung 
in  a  truly  professional  style,  and  certainly  as  Miss  Cook  never 
either  danced  or  sung.  I  should  not  have  mentioned  the  appear- 
ance of  this  spirit,  whom  I  only  saw  once  or  twice,  excepting  for 
the  following  reason:  On  one  occasion  Miss  Cook  (then  Mrs. 
Corner),  was  giving  a  public  seance  at  the  rooms  of  the  National 
British  Association  of  Spiritualism,  at  which  a  certain  Sir  George 
Sitwell,  a  very  young  man,  was  present,,  and  at  which  he  de- 
clared that  the  medium  cheated,  and  that  the  spirit  "  Marie  "  was 


2i6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

herself  dressed  up  to  deceive  the  audience.  Letters  appeared  in 
the  newspapers  about  it,  and  the  whole  press  came  down  upon 
Spiritualists,  and  declared  them  all  to  be  either  knaves  or  fools. 
These  notices  were  published  on  the  morning  of  a  day  on  which 
Miss  Cook  was  engaged  to  give  another  public  seance,  at  which 
I  was  present.  She  was  naturally  very  much  cut  up  about  them. 
Her  reputation  was  at  stake;  her  honor  had  been  called  into 
question,  and  being  a  proud  girl,  she  resented  it  bitterly.  Her 
present  audience  was  chiefly  composed  of  friends;  but,  before 
commencing,  she  put  it  to  us  whether,  whilst  under  such  a 
stigma,  she  had  better  not  sit  at  all.  We,  who  had  all  tested  her 
and  believed  in  her,  were  unanimous  in  repudiating  the  vile 
charges  brought  against  her,  and  in  begging  the  seance  should 
proceed.  Florrie  refused,  however,  to  sit  unless  someone  sat  in 
the  cabinet  with  her,  and  she  chose  me  for  the  purpose.  I  was 
therefore  tied  to  her  securely  with  a  stout  rope,  and  we  remained 
thus  fastened  together  for  the  whole  evening.  Under  which  con- 
ditions "  Marie "  appeared,  and  sung  and  danced  outside  the 
cabinet,  just  as  she  had  done  to  Sir  George  Sitwell,  whilst  her 
medium  remained  tied  to  me.  So  much  for  men  who  decide  a 
matter  before  they  have  sifted  it  to  the  bottom.  Mrs.  Elgie  Cor- 
ner has  long  since  given  up  mediumship  either  private  or  public, 
and  lives  deep  down  in  the  heart  of  Wales,  where  the  babble  and 
scandal  of  the  city  affect  her  no  longer.  But  she  told  me,  only 
last  year,  that  she  would  not  pass  through  the  suffering  she  had 
endured  on  account  of  Spiritualism  for  all  the  good  this  world 
could  give  her. 

THE   DOCTOR. 

I  wonder  if  it  has  struck  any  of  my  readers  as  strange  that 
during  all  these  manifestations  in  England  and  America  I  had 
never  seen  the  form,  nor  heard  the  voice  of  my  late  father.  Cap- 
tain Marryat.  Surely  if  these  various  media  lived  by  trickery 
and  falsehood,  and  wished  successfully  to  deceive  me,  some  of 
them  would  have  thought  of  trying  to  represent  a  man  so  well 
known,  and  whose  appearance  was  so  familiar.  Other  celebrated 
men  and  women  have  come  back  and  been  recognized  from  their 


Florence  Marryat.  217 

portraits  only,  but,  though  I  have  sat  at  numbers  of  seances 
given  for  me  alone,  and  at  which  I  have  been  the  principal  per- 
son, my  father  has  never  reappeared  at  any.  Especially,  if  these 
manifestations  are  all  fraud,  might  this  have  been  expected  in 
America.  Captain  Marryat's  name  is  still  *'  a  household  word  " 
amongst  the  Americans,  and  his  works  largely  read  and  appreci- 
ated, and  wherever  I  appeared  amongst  them  I  was  cordially 
welcomed  on  that  account.  When  once  I  had  acknowledged  my 
identity  and  my  views  on  Spiritualism,  every  medium  in  Boston 
and  New  York  had  ample  time  to  get  up  an  imitation  of  my 
father  for  my  benefit,  had  they  desired  to  do  so.  But  never  has 
he  appeared  to  me;  never  have  I  been  told  that  he  was  present. 
Twice  only  in  the  whole  course  of  my  experience  have  I  received 
the  slightest  sign  from  him,  and  on  those  occasions  he  sent  me 
a  message — once  through  Mr.  Fletcher  (as  I  have  related)  and 
once  through  his  grandson  and  my  son,  Frank  Marryat.  This 
time  he  told  me  he  should  never  appear  to  me  and  I  need  never 
expect  him.  But  since  the  American  media  knew  nothing  of  this 
strictly  private  communication,  and  I  had  seen  before  I  parted 
with  them,  seventeen  of  my  friends  and  relations,  none  of  whom 
(except  "  Florence,"  "  Powles,"  and  "  Emily  ")  I  had  ever  seen 
in  England,  it  is  at  the  least  strange,  considering  his  popularity 
(and  granted  their  chicanery),  that  Captain  Marryat  was  not 
amongst  them. 

As  soon  as  I  became  known  at  the  Berry's  seances,  several 
people  introduced  themselves  to  me,  and  amongst  others  Mrs. 
Isabella  Beecher  Hooker,  the  sister  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher 
.Stowe  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  She  was  delighted  to  find 
me  so  interested  in  Spiritualism,  and  anxious  I  should  sit  with 
a  friend  of  hers,  a  great  medium  whose  name  became  so  rubbed 
out  in  my  pencil  notes,  that  I  am  not  sure  if  it  was  Dr.  Carter, 
or  Carteret,  and  therefore  I  shall  speak  of  him  here  simply  as 
"  the  doctor."  The  doctor  was  bound  to  start  for  Washington 
the  following  afternoon,  so  Mrs.  Hooker  asked  me  to  breakfast 
with  her  the  next  morning,  by  which  time  she  would  have  found 
out  if  he  could  spare  us  an  hour  before  he  set  out  on  his  journey. 
When  I  arrived  at  her  house  I  heard  that  he  had  very  obligingly 
offered  to  give  me  a  complimentary  seance  at  eleven  o'clock,  so, 


2i8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

as  soon  as  we  had  finished  breakfast,  we  set  out  for  his  abode. 
I  found  the  doctor  was  quite  a  young  man,  and  professed  him- 
self perfectly  ignorant  on  the  subject  of  Spiritualism.  He  said 
to  me,  "  I  don't  know  and  I  don't  profess  to  know  what  or  who 
it  is  that  appears  to  my  sitters  whilst  I  am  asleep.  I  know  noth- 
ing of  what  goes  on  except  from  hearsay.  I  don't  know  whether 
the  forms  that  appear  are  spirits,  or  transformations,  or  material- 
izations. You  must  judge  of  that  for  yourself.  There  is  one 
peculiarity  in  my  seances.  They  take  place  in  utter  darkness. 
When  the  apparitions  (or  whatever  you  choose  to  call  them), 
appear,  they  must  bring  their  own  lights  or  you  won't  see  them, 
I  have  no  conductor  to  my  seances.  If  whatever  comes  can't 
announce  itself  it  must  remain  unknown.  But  I  think  you  will 
find  that,  as  a  rule,  they  can  shift  for  themselves.  This  is  my 
seance  room." 

As  he  spoke  he  led  us  into  an  unfurnished  bedroom,  I  say 
bedroom,  because  it  was  provided  with  the  dressing  closet  fitted 
with  pegs  usual  to  all  bedrooms  in  America.  This  closet  the 
doctor  used  as  his  cabinet.  The  door  was  left  open,  and  there 
was  no  curtain  hung  before  it.  The  darkness  he  sat  in  rendered 
that  unnecessary.  The  bedroom  was  darkened  by  two  frames, 
covered  with  black  American  cloth,  which  fitted  into  the  windows. 
The  doctor  having  locked  the  bedroom  door  delivered  the  key 
to  me.  He  then  requested  us  to  go  and  sit  for  a  few  minutes  in 
the  cabinet  to  throw  our  influence  about  it.  As  we  did  so  we 
naturally  examined  it.  It  was  only  a  large  cupboard.  It  had 
no  window  and  no  door,  except  that  which  led  into  the  room, 
and  no  furniture  except  a  cane-bottomed  chair.  When  we  re; 
turned  to  the  seance  room,  the  doctor  saw  us  comfortably  estab- 
lished on  two  armchairs  before  he  put  up  the  two  black  frames 
to  exclude  the  light.  The  room  was  then  pitch  dark,  and  the 
doctor  had  to  grope  his  way  to  his  cabinet.  Mrs.  Hooker  and 
I  sat  for  some  minutes  in  silent  expectation.  Then  we  heard 
the  voice  of  a  negress,  singing  "  darkey  "  songs,  and  my  friend 
told  me  it  was  that  of  "  Rosa,"  the  doctor's  control.  Presently 
"  Rosa  "  was  heard  to  be  expostulating  with,  or  encouraging  some 
one,  and  faint  lights,  like  sparks  from  a  fire  could  be  seen 
floating  about  the  open  door  of  the  cabinet.     Then  the  lights 


Florence  Marryat.  219 

seemed  to  congregate  together,  and  cluster  about  a  tall  form, 
dressed  in  some  misty  material,  standing  just  outside  the  cabinet. 
"  Can't  you  tell  us  who  you  are  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Hooker.  "  You 
must  tell  your  name,  you  know,"  interposed  "  Rosa,"  whereupon 
a  low  voice  said,  "  I  am  Janet  E.  Powles." 

Now  this  was  an  extraordinary  coincidence.  I  had  seen  Mrs. 
Powles,  the  mother  of  my  friend  "  John  Powles,"  only  once, 
when  she  travelled  from  Liverpool  to  London  to  meet  me  on 
my  return  from  India,  and  hear  all  the  particulars  of  her  son's 
death.  But  she  continued  to  correspond  with  me,  and  show  me 
kindness  till  the  day  of  her  own  death,  and  as  she  had  a  daughter 
of  the  same  name,  she  always  signed  herself  "  Janet  E.  Powles." 
Even  had  I  expected  to  see  the  old  lady  and  published  the  fact 
in  the  Boston  papers,  that  initial  E  would  have  settled  the  ques- 
tion of  her  identity  in  my  mind. 

"  Mrs.  Powles !  "  I  exclaimed,  "  how  good  of  you  to  come 
and  see  me."  "  Johnny  has  helped  me  to  come,"  she  replied.  "  He 
is  so  happy  at  having  met  you  again.  He  has  been  longing  for 
it  for  so  many  years,  and  I  have  come  to  thank  you  for  making 
him  happy."  (Here  was  another  coincidence.  "John  Powles" 
was  never  called  anything  but  "  Powles  "  by  my  husband  and 
myself.  But  his  mother  had  retained  the  childish  name  of 
"  Johnny,"  and  I  could  remember  how  it  used  to  vex  him  when 
she  used  it  in  her  letters  to  him.  He  would  say  to  me,  "  If  she 
would  only  call  me  '  John  '  or  '  Jack,*  or  anything  but  *  Johnny.'  ") 
I  replied,  "  I  may  not  leave  my  seat  to  go  to  you.  Will  you  not 
come  to  me  ?  "  For  the  doctor  had  requested  us  not  to  leave 
our  seats,  but  to  insist  on  the  spirits  approaching  us.  "  Mrs. 
Powles  "  said,  "  I  cannot  come  out  further  into  the  room  to-day. 
I  am  too  weak.  But  you  shall  see  me."  The  lights  then  appeared 
to  travel  about  her  face  and  dress  till  they  became  stationary, 
and  she  was  completely  revealed  to  view  under  the  semblance 
of  her  earthly  likeness.  She  smiled  and  said,  "  We  were  all  at 
the  Opera  House  on  Thursday  night,  and  rejoiced  at  your 
success.  '  Johnny '  was  so  proud  of  you.  Many  of  your  friends 
were  there  beside  ourselves." 

I  then  saw  that,  unlike  the  spirits  at  Miss  Berry's,  the  form 
of  "  Mrs.  Powles  "  was  draped  in  a  kind  of  filmy  white,  over  a 


2  20  Book  of  Knowledge. 

dark  dress.  All  the  spirits  that  appeared  with  the  doctor  were 
so  clothed,  and  I  wondeied  if  the  filmy  substance  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  lights,  which  looked  like  electricity.  An  incident 
which  occurred  further  on  seemed  to  confirm  my  idea.  When 
"  Mrs.  Powles  "  had  gone,  which  we  guessed  by  the  extinguish- 
ing of  the  light,  the  handsome  face  and  form  of  "  Harry  Mon- 
tagu "  appeared.  I  had  known  him  well  in  England,  before  he 
took  his  fatal  journey  to  America,  and  could  never  be  mistaken 
in  his  sweet  smile  and  fascinating  manner.  He  did  not  come  fur- 
ther than  the  door,  either,  but  he  was  standing  within  twelve  or 
fourteen  feet  of  us  for  all  that.  He  only  said,  "  Good  luck  to 
you.  We  can't  lose  interest  in  the  old  profession,  you  know, 
any  more  than  in  the  old  people."  "  I  wish  you'd  come  and  help 
me,  Harry,"  I  answered.  "  Oh,  I  do !  "  he  said  brightly ;  "  sev- 
eral of  us  do.  We  are  all  links  of  the  same  chain.  Half  the  in- 
spiration in  the  world  comes  from  those  who  have  gone  before. 
But  I  must  go !  I'm  getting  crowded  out.  Here's  Ada  waiting 
to  see  you.  Good-bye !  "'  And  as  his  light  went  out,  the  sweet 
face  of  Adelaide  Neilson  appeared  in  his  stead.  She  said,  "  You 
wept  when  you  heard  of  my  death ;  and  yet  you  never  knew  me. 
How  was  that?"  "Did  I  weep.^"  I  answered,  half  forgetting; 
**  if  so,  it  must  have  been  because  I  thought  it  so  sad  that  a 
woman  so  young,  and  beautiful,  and  gifted  as  you  were  should 
leave  the  world  so  soon."  "  Oh,  no !  not  sad, "  she  answered, 
brightly ;  "  glorious !  glorious !  I  would  not  be  back  again  for 
worlds."  "  Have  you  ever  seen  your  grave  ?  "  I  asked  her.  She 
shook  her  head.  "  What  are  graves  to  us  ?  Only  cupboards, 
where  you  keep  our  cast-off  clothes."  "  You  don't  ask  me  what 
the  world  says  about  you  now,"  I  said  to  her.  "  And  I  don't 
care,"  she  answered.     "  Don't  you  forget  me !    Good-bye !  " 

She  was  succeeded  by  a  spirit  who  called  herself  "  Charlotte 
Cushman,"  and  who  spoke  to  me  kindly  about  my  professional 
life.  Mrs.  Hooker  told  me  that,  to  the  best  of  her  knowledge, 
none  of  these  three  spirits  had  ever  appeared  under  the  doctor's 
mediumship  before.  But  now  came  out  "  Florence,"  dancing 
into  the  room — literally  dancing,  holding  out  in  both  hands  the 
skirt  of  a  dress,  which  looked  as  if  it  were  made  of  the  finest 
muslin  or  lace,  and  up  and  down  which  fire-flys  were  darting  with 


Florence  Marryat.  221 

marvellous  rapidity.  She  looked  as  if  clothed  in  electricity,  and 
infinitely  well  pleased  with  herself.  **  Look ! "  she  exclaimed, 
"  look  at  my  dress !  Isn't  it  lovely  ?  Look  at  the  fire !  The 
more  I  shake  it,  the  more  fire  comes !  Oh,  mother !  if  you  could 
only  have  a  dress  like  this  for  the  stage,  what  a  sensation  you 
would  make ! "  And  she  shook  her  skirts  about,  till  the  fire 
seemed  to  set  a  light  to  every  part  of  her  drapery,  and  she  looked 
as  if  she  were  in  flames.  I  observed,  "  I  never  knew  you  to  take 
so  much  interest  in  your  dress  before,  darling."  "  Oh,  it  isn't  the 
dress,"  she  replied;  "  it's  the  Hre!"  And  she  really  appeared  as 
charmed  with  the  novel  experience  as  a  child  with  a  new  toy. 

As  she  left  us,  a  dark  figure  advanced  into  the  room,  and 
ejaculated,  "  Ma !  ma !  "  I  recognized  at  once  the  peculiar  inton- 
ation and  mode  of  address  of  my  stepson,  Francis  Lean,  with 
whom,  since  he  had  announced  his  own  death  to  me,  I  had  had 
no  communication,  except  through  trance  mediumship.  "  Is  that 
you,  my  poor  boy  ?  "  I  said,  "  come  closer  to  me.  You  are  not 
afraid  of  me,  are  you  ?  "  "  O  no.  Ma !  of  course  not,  only  I  was 
at  the  Opera  House,  you  know,  with  the  others,  and  that  piece 
you  recited.  Ma — you  know  the  one — it's  all  true.  Ma — and  I  don't 
want  you  to  go  back  to  England.  Stay  here,  Ma — stay  here!" 
I  knew  perfectly  well  to  what  the  lad  alluded,  but  I  would  not 
enter  upon  it  before  a  stranger.  So  I  only  said,  "  You  forget  my 
children,  Francis — what  would  they  say  if  I  never  went  home 
again?"  This  seemed  to  puzzle  him,  but  after  a  while  he 
answered,  "  Then  go  to  them,  Ma ;  go  to  them."  All  this  time 
he  had  been  talking  in  the  dark,  and  I  only  knew  him  by  the 
sound  of  his  voice.  I  said,  "  Are  you  not  going  to  show  your- 
self to  me,  Francis?  It  is  such  a  long  time  since  we  met." 
"  Never  since  you  saw  me  at  the  docks.  That  was  me,  Ma,  and 
at  Brighton,  too,  only  you  didn't  half  believe  it  till  you  heard 
I  was  gone."  "  Tell  me  the  truth  of  the  accident,  Francis," 
I  asked  him.  "Was  there  foul  play?"  "No,"  he  replied, 
"but  we  got  quarrelling  about  her  you  know,  and  fighting, 
and  that's  how  the  boat  upset.  It  was  my  fault,  Ma,  as  much 
as  anybody  else's." 

"  How  was  it  your  body  was  never  found  ?  "  "  It  got  dragged 
down  in  an  undercurrent,  Ma.    It  was  out  at  Cape  Horn  before 


2  22  Book  of  Knowledge. 

they  offered  a  reward  for  it."  Then  he  began  to  light  up,  and  as 
soon  as  the  figure  was  illuminated  I  saw  the  boy  was  dressed 
in  "  jumpers  "  and  **  jersey  "  of  dark  woolen  material,  such  as 
they  wear  in  the  merchant  service  in  hot  climates,  but  over  it  all 
— his  head  and  shoulders  included — was  wound  a  quantity  of 
flimsy  white  material  I  have  before  mentioned.  "  I  can't  bear 
this  stuff.  It  makes  me  look  like  a  girl,"  said  Francis,  and  with 
his  hands  he  tore  it  off.  Simultaneously  the  illumination  ceased, 
and  he  was  gone.  I  called  him  by  name  several  times,  but  no 
sound  came  out  of  the  darkness.  It  seemed  as  though  the  veiling 
which  he  disliked  preserved  his  materialization,  and  that,  with 
its  protection  removed,  he  had  dissolved  again. 

When  another  dark  figure  came  out  of  the  cabinet,  and  ap- 
proaching me,  knelt  at  my  feet,  I  supposed  it  to  be  "  Francis  " 
come  back  again,  and  laying  my  hand  on  the  bent  head,  I  asked, 
"  Is  this  you  again,  dear  ?  "  A  strange  voice  answered,  with  the 
words,  ''Forgive!  forgive!"  ''Forgive!"  I  repeated,  "what 
have  I  to  forgive  ?  "  "  The  attempt  to  murder  your  husband  in 
1856.  Arthur  Yelverton  Brooking  has  forgiven.  He  is  here 
with  me  now.  Will  you  forgive,  too?"  "Certainly,"  I  replied, 
"  I  have  forgiven  long  ago.  You  expiated  your  sin  upon  the 
gallows.    You  could  do  no  more." 

The  figure  sprung  into  a  standing  position,  and  lit  up  from 
head  to  foot,  when  I  saw  the  two  men  standing  together.  Arthur 
Yelverton  Brooking  and  the  Madras  sepoy  who  had  murdered 
him.  I  never  saw  anything  more  brilliant  than  the  appearance 
of  the  sepoy.  He  was  dressed  completely  in  white,  in  the  native 
costume,  with  a  white  puggree  or  turban  on  his  head.  But  his 
puggree  was  flashing  with  jewels — strings  of  them  were  hung 
round  his  neck — and  his  sash  held  a  magnificent  jewelled  dagger. 
You  must  please  to  remember  that  I  was  not  alone,  but  that  this 
sight  was  beheld  by  Mrs.  Hooker  as  well  as  myself  (to  whom 
it  was  as  unexpected  as  to  her),  and  that  I  know  she  would  testify 
to  it  to-day.  And  now  to  explain  the  reason  of  these  unlooked- 
for  apparitions. 

In  1856,  my  husband,  then  Lieutenant  Ross-Church,  was  Ad- 
jutant of  the  I2th  Madras  Native  Infantry,  and  Arthur  Yelverton 
Brooking,  who  had  for  some  time  done  duty  with  the  12th,  was 


Florence  Marryat.  223 

adjutant  of  another  native  corps,  both  of  which  were  stationed 
at  Madrass.  Lieutenant  Church  was  not  a  favorite  with  his 
men,  by  whom  he  was  considered  a  martinet,  and  one  day  when 
there  had  been  a  review  on  the  island  at  Madras,  and  the  two 
adjutants  were  riding  home  together,  a  sepoy  of  the  12th  fired 
at  Lieutenant  Church's  back  with  intent  to  kill  him,  but  unfor- 
tunately the  bullet  struck  Lieutenant  Brooking  instead,  who, 
after  lingering  for  twelve  hours,  died,  leaving  a  young  wife  and  a 
baby  behind  him.  For  this  offence  the  sepoy  was  tried  and  hung, 
and  on  his  trial  the  whole  truth  of  course  came  out.  This,  then, 
was  the  reason  that  the  spirits  of  the  murderer  and  the  murdered 
came  like  friends,  because  the  injury  had  never  been  really  in- 
tended for  Brooking. 

When  I  said  that  I  had  forgiven,  the  sepoy,  became  (as  I 
have  told)  a  blaze  of  light,  and  then  knelt  again  and  kissed  the 
hem  of  my  dress.  As  he  knelt  there,  he  became  covered  or  heaped 
over  with  a  mass  of  that  same  filmy  drapery  that  enveloped 
"  Francis,''  and  when  he  arose  again  he  was  standing  in  a  cloud. 
He  gathered  an  end  of  it,  and  laying  it  on  my  head  he  wound 
me  and  himself  round  and  round  with  it,  until  we  were  bound 
up  in  a  kind  of  cocoon.  Mrs.  Hooker,  who  watched  the  whole 
proceeding,  told  me  afterwards  that  she  had  never  seen  anything 
like  it  before — she  could  distinctly  see  the  dark  face  and  the 
white  face  close  together  all  the  time  beneath  the  drapery,  and 
that  I  was  as  brightly  illuminated  as  the  spirit.  Of  this  I  was 
not  aware  myself,  but  his  brightness  almost  dazzled  me. 

Let  me  observe  also  that  I  have  been  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
within  a  few  yards'  length  of  sepoys,  and  that  I  am  sure  I  could 
never  have  been  wrapt  in  the  same  cloth  with  a  mortal  one 
without  having  been  painfully  aware  of  it  in  more  ways  than 
one.  The  spirit  did  not  unwind  me  again,  although  the  winding 
process  had  taken  him  some  time.  He  whisked  off  the  wrapping 
with  one  pull  and  I  stood  alone  once  more.  I  asked  him  by  what 
name  I  should  call  him,  and  he  said,  ''  Spirit  of  Light."  He  then 
expressed  a  wish  to  magnetize  something  I  wore,  so  as  to  be  the 
better  able  to  approach  me.  I  gave  him  a  brooch  containing 
"  John  Powles'  "  hair,  which  his  mother  had  given  me  after  his 
death,  and  he  carried  it  back  into  the  cabinet  with  him.     It  was 


2  24  Book  of  Knowledge. 

a  valuable  brooch  of  onyx  and  pearls,  and  I  was  hoping  my 
eastern  friend  would  not  carry  it  too  far,  when  I  found  it  had 
been  replaced  and  fastened  at  my  throat  without  my  being  aware 
of  the  circumstance.  '*  Arthur  Yelverton  Brooking "  had  dis- 
appeared before  this,  and  neither  of  them  came  back  again. 
These  were  not  all  the  spirits  that  came  under  the  doctor's 
mediumship  during  that  seance,  but  only  those  whom  I  had 
known  and  recognized.  Several  of  Mrs.  Hooker's  friends  ap- 
peared and  some  of  the  doctor's  controls,  but  as  I  have  said 
before,  they  could  not  help  my  narrative,  and  so  I  omit  to 
describe  them.  The  seance  lasted  altogether  two  hours,  and  I 
was  very  grateful  to  the  doctor  for  giving  me  the  opportunity 
to  study  an  entirely  new  phase  of  the  science  to  me. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  RECORD  OF  AUTHENTIC  APPARITIONS. 

(From  the  Christmas  number  of  the  Review  of  Reviews.    Col- 
lated and  edited  by  W.  T.  Stead.) 

"  I  merely  mean  to  say  what  Johnson  said, 
That,  in  the  course  of  some  six  thousand  years, 
All  nations  have  believed  that  from  the  dead 
A  visitant  at  intervals  appears. 

And  what  is  strangest  upon  this  strange  head 
Is,  that  whatever  bar  the  reason  rears 
'Gainst  such  belief,  there's  something  stronger  still 
In  its  behalf,  let  those  deny  who  will." 

Byron. 

ROYAL. 

"  Henry  the  Fourth,  of  France,  told  d'Aubigne  (see  d'Aubigne 
*'  Histoire  Universelle  ")  that  in  presence  of  himself,  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Lyons  and  three  ladies  of  the  court,  the  Queen  (Mar- 
garet of  Valois)  saw  the  apparition  of  a  certain  cardinal  after- 
wards found  to  have  died  at  that  moment.  Also  he  (Henry 
the  Fourth)  was  warned  of  his  approaching  end  not  long  before 
he  was  murdered  by  Ravaillac,  by  meeting  an  apparition  in  a 
thicket  in  Fontainebleau.  ("  Sully's  Memoirs.") 

Abel  the  Fratricide,  King  of  Denmark,  was  buried  in  un- 
consecrated  ground,  and  still  haunts  the  wood  of  Poole,  near 
the  city  of  Sleswig. 

Valdemar  the  Fourth  haunts  Gurre  Wood  near  Elsinore. 

Charles  the  Eleventh,  of  Sweden,  accompanied  by  his  cham- 
berlain and  state  physician,  witnessed  the  trial  of  the  assassin  of 
Gustavus  the  Third,  which  occurred  nearly  a  century  later. 


2  26  Book  of  Knowledge. 

James  the  Fourth,  of  Scotland,  after  vespers  in  the  chapel 
of  Linlithgow,  was  warned  by  an  apparition  against  his  intended 
expedition  into  England.  He,  however,  proceeded,  and  was 
warned  again  at  Jedburgh,  but  persisting,  fell  at  Flodden  Field. 

Charles  the  First,  of  England,  when  resting  at  Daventree 
on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Naseby,  was  twice  visited  by  the  ap- 
parition of  Strafford,  warning  him  not  to  meet  the  Parlia- 
mentary Army,  then  quartered  at  Northampton.  Being  per- 
suaded by  Prince  Rupert  to  disregard  the  warning,  the  King 
set  oflf  to  march  northward,  but  was  surprised  on  the  route  and 
a  disastrous  defeat  followed. 

Orleans,  Duke  of,  brother  of  Louis  Fourteenth,  called  his 
eldest  son  (afterwards  regent)  by  his  second  title.  Due  de 
Chartres,  in  preference  to  the  more  usual  one  of  Due  de  Valois. 
This  change  is  said  to  have  been  in  consequence  of  a  communi- 
cation made  before  his  birth  by  the  apparition  of  his  father^s 
first  wife,  Henrietta  of  England,  reported  to  have  been  poisoned. 

HISTORICAL  WOMEN. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  is  said  to  have  been  warned  of  her  death 
by  the  apparition  of  her  own  double.  (So,  too.  Sir  Robert 
Napier  and  Lady  Diana  Rich.) 

Catherine  de  Medecis  saw,  in  a  vision,  the  battle  of  Jarnac, 
and  cried  out,  "  Do  you  not  see  the  Prince  of  Conde  dead  in 
the  hedge  ?  "  This  and  many  similar  stories  are  told  by  Mar- 
garet of  Valois  in  her  "  Memoirs." 

Philippa,  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  when  a  girl  in  a 
convent,  saw  a  vision  in  the  battle  of  Pavia,  then  in  progress, 
and  the  captivity  of  the  king,  her  cousin,  and  called  on  the  nuns 
about  her  to  pray. 

Joan  of  Arc  was  visited  and  directed  by  various  saints,  in- 
cluding the  Archangel  Michael,  St.  Catherine,  St.  Margaret, 
etc. 

LORD  CHANCELLORS. 

Erskine,  Lord,  himself  relates  (Lady  Morgan's  "  Book  of 
the  Boudoir,"  1829,  Vol.  I.,  123)  that  the  spectre  of  his  father's 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  227 

butler,  whom  he  did  not  know  to  be  dead,  appeared  to  him  in 
broad  dayHght,  "  to  meet  your  honor,"  so  it  explained,  "  and  to 
solicit  your  interference  with  my  lord  to  recover  a  sum  due  to 
me  which  the  steward  at  the  last  settlement  did  not  pay,"  which 
proved  to  be  a  fact. 


CABINET  MINISTERS. 

Buckingham,  Duke  of,  was  exhorted  to  amendment  and 
warned  of  approaching  assassination  by  an  apparition  of  his 
father,  Sir  George  Villiers,  who  was  seen  by  Mr.  Towers,  sur- 
veyor of  works  at  Windsor.     All  occurred  as  foretold. 

Castlereagh,  Lord  (who  succeeded  Perceval  Spencer  as  For- 
eign Secretary),  when  a  young  man  quartered  with  his  regiment 
in  Ireland,  saw  the  apparition  of  "  The  Radiant  Boy,"  said  to 
be  an  omen  of  good.  Sir  Walter  Scott  speaks  of  him  as  one 
of  two  persons  "  of  sense  and  credibility,  who  both  attested 
supernatural  appearances  on  their  own  evidence." 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  and  his  brother  both  saw  Lord  Byron  in 
London  in  18 10,  while  he  was  in  fact  lying  dangerously  ill  at 
Patras.  During  the  same  fever  he  also  appeared  to  others, 
and  was  even  seen  to  write  down  his  name  among  the  inquirers 
after  the  king's  health. 


EMPERORS. 

Trajan,  Emperor,  was  extricated  from  Antioch  during  an 
earthquake  by  a  spectre  which  drove  him  out  of  a  window. 
("  Dio  Cassius,"  lib.  Ixviii). 

Caracalla,  Emperor,  was  visited  by  the  ghost  of  his  father, 
Severus. 

Julian  the  Apostate,  Emperor  (i),  when  hesitating  to  accept 
the  empire,  saw  a  female  figure,  "  The  Genius  of  the  Empire," 
who  said  she  would  remain  with  him,  but  not  for  long.  (2.) 
Shortly  before  his  death  he  saw  his  genius  leave  him  with  a 
dejected  air.  (3.)  He  saw  a  phantom  prognosticating  the  death 
of  the  Emperor  Constans.     (See  S.  Basil.) 


2  28  Book  of  Knowledge, 

SOLDIERS. 

Curtius  Rufus  (pro-consul  of  Africa)  is  reported  by  Pliny  to 
have  been  visited,  while  still  young  and  unknown,  by  a  gigantic 
female,  the  genius  of  Africa,  who  foretold  his  career.  ("  Pliny," 
b.  VII,  letter  26.) 

Julius  Caesar  was  marshalled  across  the  Rubicon  by  a  spectre 
which  seized  a  trumpet  from  one  of  the  soldiers  and  sounded  an 
alarm. 

Xerxes,  after  giving  up  the  idea  of  carrying  war  into  Greece, 
was  persuaded  to  the  expedition  by  the  apparition  of  a  young 
man,  who  also  visited  Artabanus,  uncle  to  the  king,  when  upon 
Xerxes  request  Artabanus  assumed  his  robe  and  occupied  his 
place.     (Herodotus,  VII.) 

Brutus  was  visited  by  a  spectre,  supposed  to  be  that  of 
Julius  Caesar,  who  announced  that  they  would  meet  again  at 
Philippi,  where  he  was  defeated  in  battle  and  put  an  end  to  his 
own  Hfe. 

Drusus,  when  seeking  to  cross  the  Elbe,  was  deterred  by  a 
female  spectre  who  told  him  to  turn  back  and  meet  his  ap- 
proaching end.     He  died  before  reaching  the  Rhine. 

Pausanius,  General  of  the  Lacedaemonians,  inadvertently 
caused  the  death  of  a  young  lady  of  good  family,  who  haunted 
him  day  and  night,  uging  him  to  give  himself  up  to  justice. 
(Plutarch  in  Simone.) 

Dio,  General  of  Syracuse,  saw  a  female  apparition  sweeping 
furiously  in  his  house  to  denote  that  his  family  would  shortly 
be  swept  out  of  Syracuse,  which  through  various  accidents  was 
shortly  the  case. 

Napoleon,  at  St.  Helena,  saw  and  conversed  with  the  ap- 
parition of  Josephine,  who  warned  him  of  his  approaching 
death.  The  story  is  related  by  Count  Montholon,  to  whom  he 
told  it. 

Blucher,  on  the  very  day  of  decease,  related  to  the  King  of 
Prussia  that  he  had  been  warned  by  the  apparition  of  his  entire 
family  of  his  approaching  end. 

Fox,  General,  went  to  Flanders  with  the  Duke  of  York 
shortly  before  the  birth  of  his  son.     Two  years  later  he  had  a 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  229 

vision  of  the  child — dead — and  correctly  described  its  appear- 
ance and  surroundings,  though  the  death  occurred  in  a  house 
unknown  to  him. 

Garfield,  General,  when  a  child  of  six  or  seven,  saw  and 
conversed  with  his  father,  lately  deceased.  He  also  had  a  pre- 
monition, which  proved  correct,  as  to  the  date  of  his  death — 
the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Chicamauga,  in  which  he  took 
a  brave  part. 

Lincoln,  President,  had  a  certain  premonitory  dream  which 
occurred  three  times  in  relation  to  important  battles  and  the 
fourth  on  the  eve  of  his  assassination. 

Coligni,  Admiral,  was  three  times  warned  to  quit  Paris  be- 
fore the  Feast  of  St.  Bartholomew,  but  disregarded  the  pre- 
monition and  perished  in  the  massacre.    (1572.) 

MEN  OF  LETTERS. 

Petrarch  saw  the  apparition  of  the  bishop  of  his  diocese  at 
the  moment  of  death. 

Epimenides,  a  poet  contemporary  with  Solon,  is  reported  by 
Plutarch  to  have  quitted  his  body  at  will  and  to  have  conversed 
with  spirits. 

Dante,  Jacobo,  son  of  the  poet,  was  visited  in  a  dream  by  his 
father,  who  conversed  with  him  and  told  him  where  to  find  the 
missing  thirteen  cantos  of  the  "  Commedia." 

Tasso  saw  and  conversed  with  beings  invisible  to  those 
about  him. 

Goethe  saw  his  own  double  riding  by  his  side  under  con- 
ditions which  really  occurred  years  later.  His  father,  mother 
and  grandmother  were  all  ghost-seers. 

Donne,  Dr.,  when  in  Paris  saw  the  apparition  of  his  wife  in 
London  carrying  a  dead  child  at  the  very  hour  a  dead  infant 
was  in  fact  born. 

Byron,  Lord,  is  said  to  have  seen  the  Black  Friar  of  New- 
stead  on  the  eve  of  his  ill-fated  marriage.  Also  with  others  he 
saw  the  apparition  of  Shelley  walk  into  a  wood  at  Lerici,  though 
they  knew  him  at  the  time  to  be  several  miles  away. 

Shelley,  while  in  a  state  of  trance,  saw  a  figure  wrapped  in 


230  Book  of  Knowledge. 

a  cloak  which  beckoned  to  him  and  asked,  "  Siete  soddisfatto  ?  " 
— are  you  satisfied? 

Benvenuto  Cellini,  when  in  captivity  in  Rome  at  order  of 
the  Pope,  was  dissuaded  from  suicide  by  the  apparition  of  a 
young  man  who  frequently  visitejd  and  encouraged  him. 

Mozart  was  visited  by  a  mysterious  person  who  ordered  him 
to  compose  a  requiem,  and  came  frequently  to  inquire  after  its 
progress,  but  disappeared  on  its  completion,  which  occurred 
just  in  time  for  its  performance  at  Mozart's  own  funeral. 

Ben  Johnson,  when  staying  at  Sir  Robert  Cotton's  house, 
was  visited  by  the  apparition  of  his  eldest  son  with  a  mark  of  a 
bloody  cross  upon  his  forehead  at  the  moment  of  his  death  by 
the  plague.  He  himself  told  the  story  to  Drummond  of  Haw- 
thornden. 

Thackeray,  W.  M.,  writes :  "  It  is  all  very  well  for  you  who 
have  probably  never  seen  spirit  manifestations  to  talk  as  you 
do,  but  had  you  seen  what  I  have  witnessed  you  would  hold  a 
different  opinion." 

Mrs.  Browning's  spirit  appeared  to  her  sister  with  warning 
of  death.  Robert  Browning  writes,  Tuesday,  July  21,  1863, 
"  Arabel  (Miss  Barrett)  told  me  yesterday  that  she  had  been 
much  agitated  by  a  dream  which  happened  the  night  before — 
Sunday,  July  19th.  She  saw  her  and  asked,  *  When  shall  I  be 
with  you  ?  '  The  reply  was,  *  Dearest,  in  five  years,'  whereupon 
Arabel  awoke.  She  knew  in  her  dream  that  it  was  not  to  the 
living  she  spoke."  In  five  years,  within  a  month  of  their  com- 
pletion. Miss  Barrett  died  and  Browning  writes,  "  I  had  for- 
gotten the  date  of  the  dream  and  supposed  it  was  only  three 
years,  and  that  two  had  still  to  run." 

Dr.  Guthrie  was  directed  by  repeated  pulHngs  at  his  coat  to 
go  in  a  certain  direction,  contrary  to  previous  intentions,  and 
was  thus  the  means  of  saving  the  life  of  a  parishioner. 

Miller,  Hugh,  tells  in  his  ''  Schools  and  Schoolmasters,"  of 
the  apparition  of  a  bloody  hand,  seen  by  himself  and  the  servant 
but  not  by  the  others  present.  Accepted  as  a  warning  of  the 
death  of  his  father. 

Porter,  Anna  Marie,  when  living  in  Esher  was  visited  one 
afternoon  by  an  old  gentleman,  a  neighbor,'  who  frequently  came 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  231 

< 
in  to  tea.     On  this  occasion  he  left  the  room  without  speaking, 

and  fearing  that  something  had  happened,  she  sent  to  inquire 

and  found  that  he  had  died  at  the  moment  of  his  appearance. 

Edgworth,  Maria,  was  waiting  with  her  family  for  an  ex- 
pected guest  when  the  vacant  chair  was  suddenly  occupied  by 
the  apparition  of  a  sailor  cousin  who  stated  that  his  ship  had 
been  wrecked  and  he  alone  saved.  The  event  proved  the  con- 
trary— he  alone  was  drowned. 

Marryat,  Captain, — the  story  is  told  by  his  daughter — while 
staying  in  a  country  house  in  the  north  of  England,  saw  the 
family  ghost — an  ancestress  of  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  who 
had  poisoned  her  husband.  He  tried  to  shoot  her  but  the  ball, 
passed  harmlessly  into  the  door  behind,  and  the  lady  faded  away, 
always  smiling. 

De  Stael,  Madame,  was  haunted  by  the  spirit  of  her  father, 
who  counselled  and  helped  her  in  all  times  of  need. 

L.  E.  L.'s  ghost  was  seen  by  Dr.  Madden  in  the  room  in 
which  she  died  at  Cape  Coast  Castle. 

De  Morgan,  Professor,  writes :  "I  am  perfectly  convinced 
that  I  have  both  seen  and  heard,  in  a  manner  that  should  make 
unbelief  impossible,  things  called  spiritual,  which  cannot  be 
taken  by  a  rational  being  to  be  capable  of  explanation  by  im- 
posture, coincidence  or  mistake." 

Foote,  Samuel,  in  the  year  1740,  while  visiting  at  his  father's 
house  in  Truro,  was  kept  awake  by  sounds  of  sweet  music.  His 
uncle  was  about  the  same  time  murdered  by  assassins. 

MEN  OF  SCIENCE. 

Davy,  Sir  Humphrey,  when  a  young  man  suffering  from 
yellow  fever  on  the  Gold  Coast,  was  comforted  by  visions  of  his 
guardian  angel  who,  years  after,  appeared  to  him  again,  incar- 
nate, in  the  person  of  his  nurse  during  his  last  illness. 

Harvey,  William,  the  discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  used  to  relate  that  his  life  was  saved  by  a  dream.  When 
a  young  man  he  was  proceeding  to  Padua,  when  he  was  detained 
— with  no  reason  alleged — ^^by  the  Governor  at  Dover.  The  ship 
was  wrecked  and  all  on  board  lost,  and  it  was  then  explained 


232  Book  of  Knowledge. 

that  the  Governor  had  received  orders,  in  a  dream,  to  prevent 
a  person  to  whose  description  Harvey  answered  from  going 
on  board  that  night. 

Farquhar,  Sir  Walter,  physician  (made  a  baronet  in  1796), 
visited  a  patient  at  Pomeroy  Castle.  While  waiting  alone  a 
lady  appeared  to  him  exhibiting  agony  and  remorse  (who 
proved  to  be  the  family  ghost)  prognosticating  the  death  of  the 
patient  which  followed. 

Clark,  Sir  James,  wife  of,  while  living  in  their  house  in 
Brook  Street,  saw  the  apparition  of  her  son,  Dr.  J.  Clark,  then 
in  India,  carrying  a  dead  baby  wrapped  in  an  Indian  shawl. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  did,  in  fact,  send  home  a  body  of  a  dead 
child  for  interment  which  had  died  at  the  hour  noted.  To  fill 
up  the  coffin  it  was  wrapped  up  in  an  Indian  scarf. 

Herbert  of  Cherbury,  Lord,  one  of  the  first  to  systematize 
deism,  when  in  doubt  whether  he  should  pubHsh  his  "  De  Veri- 
tate,"  as  advised  by  Grotius,  prayed  for  a  sign  and  heard  sounds 
"  like  nothing  on  earth,  which  did  so  comfort  and  cheer  me 
that  I  took  my  petition  as  granted." 

Bacon,  Francis,  was  warned  in  a  dream  of  his  father's  ap- 
proaching end  which  occurred  in  a  few  days. 


THEOLOGIANS. 

Luther,  Martin,  was  visited  by  an  apparition,  one,  according 
to  Melancthon,  who  announced  his  coming  by  knocking  at  the 
door. 

Melancthon  says  that  the  apparition  of  a  venerable  person 
came  to  him  in  his  study  and  told  him  to  warn  his  friend  Gry- 
naeus  to  escape  at  once  from  the  danger  of  the  Inquisition,  a 
warning  which  saved  his  life. 

Zwingli  was  visited  by  an  apparition  "  with  a  perversion  of 
a  text  of  Scripture." 

Oberlin,  Pastor,  was  visited  almost  daily  by  his  deceased 
wife,  who  conversed  with  him  and  was  visible  not  only  to  him- 
self but  to  all  about  him. 

Newman,  Cardinal,  relates  in  a  letter,  January  3,  1833,  that 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  233 

when  in  quarantine  in  Malta  he  and  his  companions  heard  foot- 
steps not  to  be  accounted  for  by  human  agency. 

Wilberforce,  Bishop,  experienced  remarkable  premonitions, 
and  phenomena  even  more  startling  are  attributed  to  him. 


SAINTS. 

The  stories  of  visions,  apparitions,  etc.,  which  are  told  in 
connection  with  the  saints  are  far  too  numerous  to  quote.  The 
following,  however,  may  be  referred  to  as  of  special  interest: 

1.  (Phantasms  of  the  Living.)  St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  Gen- 
nadius  (the  friend  of  St.  Augustine),  St.  Augustine  himself, 
twice  over  (he  tells  the  story  himself,  Serm.  233),  St.  Benedict, 
and  St.  Meletius  all  appeared  during  Hfe  in  places  distant  from 
their  actual  bodily  whereabouts. 

2.  (Phantasms  of  the  Dead.)  St.  Anselm  saw  the  slain  body 
of  William  Rufus,  St.  Basil  that  of  Julian  the  Apostate,  St. 
Benedict  the  ascent  to  heaven  of  the  soul  of  St.  Germanus, 
Bishop  of  Capua — all  at  the  moment  of  death.  St.  Augustine 
and  St.  Edmund,  Archbishops  of  Canterbury,  are  said  to  have 
conversed  with  spirits.  St.  Ambrose  and  St.  Martin  of  Tours 
received  information  of  relics  from  the  original  owners  of  the 
remains. 

3.  (Premonitions).  St.  Cyprian  and  St.  Columba  each  fore- 
told the  date  and  manner  of  his  own  death,  as  revealed  in 
visions. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Harcourt,  Countess,  when  Lady  Nuneham,  mentioned  one 
morning  having  had  an  agitating  dream,  but  was  met  with 
ridicule.  Later  in  the  day  Lord  Harcourt,  her  husband's  father, 
was  missing.  She  exclaimed,  *'  Look  in  the  well,"  and  fainted 
away.  He  was  found  there  with  a  dog  which  he  had  been  try- 
ing to  save. 

Aksakoff,  Madame,  wife  of  Chancellor  Aksakoff,  on  the 
night  of  May  12,  1855,  saw  the  apparition  of  her  brother  who 
died  at  that  time.     The  story  is  one  very  elaborate  as  to  detail. 


234  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Rich,  Lady  Diana,  was  warned  of  her  death  by  a  vision  of 
her  own  double  in  the  avenue  of  Holland  House. 

Breadalbane,  Lady,  May,  her  sister  (both  daughters  of  Lord 
Holland),  was  also  warned  in  vision  of  her  death. 

The  daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Lee.  This  story  related  by  the 
Bishop  of  Gloucester,  1662,  is  very  well  known.  On  the  eve 
of  her  intended  marriage  with  Sir.  W.  Perkins  she  was  visited 
by  her  mother's  spirit  announcing  her  approaching  death  at 
twelve  o'clock  the  next  day.  She  occupied  the  intervening  time 
with  suitable  preparations  and  died  calmly  at  the  hour  foretold. 

Beresford,  Lady,  wife  of  Sir  Tristam,  before  her  marriage 
in  1687  made  a  secret  engagement  with  Lord  Tyrone  that  which 
ever  should  die  first  should  appear  to  the  other.  He  fulfilled 
his  promise  on  October  15,  1693,  and  warned  her  of  her  death 
on  her  forty-eighth  birthday.  All  was  kept  secret,  but  after  the 
fated  day  had  past  she  married  a  second  time  and  appeared  to 
enter  on  a  new  lease  of  life.  Two  years  later,  when  celebrating 
her  birthday,  she  accidentally  discovered  that  she  was  two  years 
younger  than  she  had  supposed,  and  expired  before  night.  The 
story  is  one  of  the  best  known,  and  most  interesting  in  ghost- 
lore. 

Fanshawe,  Lady,  when  visiting  in  Ireland,  heard  the  banshee 
of  the  family  with  whom  she  was  visiting,  one  of  whom  did  in 
fact  die  during  the  night.  She  also  relates  (in  her  "  Memoirs," 
p.  28)  that  her  mother  once  lay  as  dead  for  two  days  and  a 
night.  On  her  return  to  Hfe  she  informed  those  about  her 
that  she  had  asked  of  two  apparitions,  dressed  in  long  white 
garments,  for  leave,  like  Hezekiah,  to  live  for  fifteen  years  to 
see  her  daughter  grow  up  and  that  it  was  granted.  She  died 
in  fifteen  years  from  that  time. 

Maidstone,  Lady,  saw  a  fly  of  fire  as  premonitory  of  the 
deaths,  first  of  her  husband,  who  died  in  a  sea  fight  with  the 
Dutch,  May  28,  1672,  and  second,  of  her  mother-in-law.  Lady 
Winchilsea. 

Chedworth,  Lord,  was  visited  by  a  friend  and  fellow  skeptic, 
saying  he  had  died  that  night  and  realized  the  existence  of  an- 
other world.  While  relating  the  vision  the  news  arrived  of  his 
friend's  death. 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  235 

Rambouillet,  Marquis  of,  had  just  the  same  experience.  A 
fellow  unbeliever,  his  cousin,  the  Marquis  de  Precy,  visited  him 
in  Paris,  saying  that  he  had  been  killed  in  battle  in  Flanders, 
and  predicting  his  cousin's  death  in  action,  which  shortly  oc- 
curred in  the  battle  of  the  Faubourg  St.  Antoine.  (Quoted  by 
Calmet  from  "  Causes  Celebres,"  xi,  370.) 

Lyttleton,  Lord  (third),  died  November  27,  1799,  was  warned 
of  his  death  three  days  earlier  and  exhorted  to  repentance.  The 
story,  very  widely  quoted,  first  appeared  in  the  "  Gentleman's 
Magazine,"  Vol.  LXXXV,  597.  He  also  himself  appeared  to 
Mr.  Andrews,  at  Dartford  Mills,  who  was  expecting  a  visit  from 
him  at  the  time. 

Middleton,  Lord,  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Roundheads 
after  the  battle  of  Worcester.  While  in  prison  he  was  com- 
forted by  the  apparition  of  the  laird  Bocconi,  whom  he  had 
known  while  trying  to  make  a  party  for  the  king  in  Scotland, 
and  who  assured  him  of  his  escape  in  two  days,  which  occurred. 

Balcarres,  Lord,  when  confined  in  Edinburgh  Castle  on  sus- 
picion of  Jacobitism,  was  visited  by  the  apparition  of  Viscount 
Dundee — shot  at  that  moment  at  Killiecrankie. 

Holland,  Lord  (the  first),  who  was  taken  prisoner  at  the 
battle  of  St.  Neot's  in  1624,  is  said  still  to  haunt  Holland  House, 
dressed  in  the  cap  and  clothes  in  which  he  was  executed. 

Shelburne,  Lord,  eldest  son  of  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne, 
is  said,  in  Mrs.  Schimmelpenninck's  "  Memoirs,"  to  have  had 
when  five  years  old,  a  premonitory  vision  of  his  own  funeral, 
with  full  details  as  to  stoppages,  etc.  Dr.  Priestly  was  sent 
for  and  treated  the  child  for  slight  fever.  When  about  to  visit 
his  patient  (whom  he  expected  to  find  recovered)  a  few  days 
later,  he  met  the  child  running  bareheaded  in  the  snow.  When 
he  approached  to  rebuke  him,  the  figure  disappeared,  and  he 
found  that  the  boy  had  died  at  that  moment.  The  funeral  was 
arranged  by  the  father,  then  at  a  distance,  exactly  in  accord- 
ance with  the  premonition. 

Chesterfield,  Earl  of  (second),  in  1652,  saw,  on  walking,  a 
spectre  with  long  white  robes  and  black  face.  Accepting  it  as 
an  intimation  of  some  illness  of  his  wife,  then  visiting  her  father 
at  Networth,  he  set  ofif  early  to  inquire,  and  met  a  servant  with 
a  letter  from  Lady  Chesterfield  describing  the  same  apparition. 


236  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Swift,  Edmund  Lenthal,  keeper  of  the  crown  jewels  from 
1814,  himself  relates  (in  "  Notes  and  Queries,"  i860,  p.  192), 
the  appearance  in  Anne  Boleyn's  chamber  in  the  Tower,  of  **  a 
cylindrical  figure  like  a  glass  tube,  hovering  between  the  table 
and  the  ceiling,"  visible  to  himself  and  his  wife,  but  not  to 
others  present. 

The  preceding  incidents  simply  record  a  prevision  of  places 
subsequently  visited.  The  following  are  instances  in  which  not 
only  places  but  occurrences  were  seen  as  in  a  camera,  by  per- 
sons at  a  distance  varying  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  several 
thousand  miles.  Space  seems  to  have  no  existence  for  the 
clairvoyant.  They  are  quoted  from  the  published  "  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Psychical  Research  Society." 

On  September  9,  1848,  at  the  siege  of  Mooltan,  Major- 
General  R ,  C.B.,  then  adjutant  of  his  regiment,  was  most 

severely  and  dangerously  wounded,  and  supposing  himself  to 
be  dying,  asked  one  of  the  officers  with  him  to  take  the  ring 
off  his  finger  and  send  it  to  his  wife,  who  at  the  time  was  fully 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  at  Ferozepore. 

"  On  the  night  of  September  9,  1848,"  writes  his  wife,  "  I 
was  lying  on  my  bed  between  sleeping  and  waking,  when  I 
distinctly  saw  my  husband  being  carried  off  the  field,  seriously 
wounded,  and  heard  his  voice  saying,  '  Take  the  ring  off  my 
finger  and  send  it  to  my  wife.'  All  the  next  day  I  could  not  get 
the  sight  nor  the  voice  out  of  my  mind.  In  due  time  I  heard 
of  General  R— —  having  been  seriously  wounded  in  the  assault 
of  Mooltan.  He  survived,  however,  and  is  still  living.  It  was 
not  for  some  time  after  the  siege  that  I  heard  from  General 

L ,  the  officer  who  helped  to  carry  General  R off  the 

field,  that  the  request  as  to  the  ring  was  actually  made  to  him, 
just  as  I  heard  it  at  Ferozepore  at  that  very  time."  (Vol.  I., 
P-  30.) 

A  ROYAL  DEATH-BED  IN  FRANCE  SEEN  IN  SCOT- 
LAND. 

The  above  case  is  remarkable  because  the  voice  was  trans- 
mitted as  well  as  the  spectacle.     In  the  next  story  the  ear  heard 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  337 

nothing  but  the  scene  itself  was  very  remarkable.  A  corre- 
spondent of  the  Psychical  Research  Society  writes : 

I  was  staying  with  my  mother's  cousin,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Broughton,  wife  of  Mr.  Edward  Broughton,  Edinburgh,  and 
daughter  of  the  late  Colonel  Blanckley,  in  the  year  1844,  and 
she  told  me  the  following  strange  story : 

She  awoke  one  night  and  arosed  her  husband,  telling  him 
that  something  dreadful  had  happened  in  France.  He  begged 
her  to  go  to  sleep  again  and  not  to  trouble  him.  She  assured 
him  she  was  not  asleep  when  she  saw  what  she  insisted  on  then 
telling  him — what  she  saw  in  fact.  First,  a  carriage  accident, 
which  she  did  not  actually  see,  but  what  she  saw  was  the  result, 
a  broken  carriage,  a  crowd  collected,  a  figure  gently  raised  and 
carried  into  the  nearest  house,  then  a  figure  lying  on  a  bed 
which  she  then  recognized  as  the  Duke  of  Orleans.  Gradually 
friends  collecting  around  the  bed — among  them  several  mem- 
bers of  the  French  royal  family — the  Queen,  then  the  King, 
all  silently,  tearfully,  watching  the  evidently  dying  duke.  One 
man  (she  could  see  his  back  but  did  not  know  who  he  was) 
was  a  doctor.  He  stood  bending  over  the  duke,  feeling  his 
pulse,  his  watch  in  the  other  hand.  Then  all  passed  av/ay  and 
she  saw  no  more.  As  soon  as  it  was  daylight  she  wrote  down 
in  her  journal  all  that  she  had  seen.  From  that  journal  she 
read  this  to  me.  It  was  before  the  days  of  electric  telegraph, 
and  two  or  more  days  passed  before  the  Times  announced 
**  The  Death  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans."  Visiting  Paris  a  short 
time  afterward  she  saw  and  recognized  the  place  of  the  acci- 
dent and  received  the  explanation  of  her  impression.  The  doc- 
tor who  attended  the  dying  duke  was  an  old  friend  of  hers,  and 
as  he  watched  by  the  bed  his  mind  had  been  constantly  occu- 
pied with  her  and  her  family.  (Vol.  XI,  p.  160.) 

The  doctor's  sympathy  may  have  been  the  key  to  the  secret 
camera  of  Nature,  but  it  in  no  wise  "  explains  "  how  a  lady  in 
Edinburgh  could  see  what  went  on  inside  a  house  in  Paris  so 
clearly  as  to  know  what  had  happened  two  days  before  the  in- 
telligence reached  the  Times, 


238  Book  of  Knowledge. 

A  CAPABLE  "  PSYCHOMETRIST." 

While  engaged  in  writing  these  chapters  my  attention  was 
called  to  a  young  lady,  Miss  Catherine  Ross,  of  41  High  Street, 
Smethwick,  Birmingham,  who  being  left  with  an  invaHd  sister 
to  provide  for,  and  without  other  available  profession  or  in- 
dustry, bethought  herself  of  a  curious  gift  of  reading  character 
with  which  she  seems  to  have  been  born,  and  subsequently  suc- 
ceeded in  earning  a  more  or  less  precarious  income  by  writing 
out  character  at  the  modest  fee  of  five  shillings.  You  sent  her 
any  article  you  pleased  that  had  been  in  contact  with  the  sub- 
ject, and  she  sent  you  in  return  a  written  analysis  of  the  sub- 
ject's character.  I  sent  her  various  articles  from  one  person  at 
different  times,  not  telling  her  they  were  from  the  same  person. 
At  one  time  a  tuft  of  hair  from  his  beard,  at  another  time  a 
fragment  of  nail  and  a  third  time  a  scrap  of  handwriting.  Each 
delineation  of  character  differed  in  some  point  from  the  other 
two,  but  all  agfreed  and  they  were  all  remarkably  correct.  When 
she  sent  the  last  she  added,  "  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  I 
feel  I  have  described  this  person  before."  I  have  tried  her  since 
then  with  locks  of  hair  from  persons  of  the  most  varied  disposi- 
tion, and  have  found  her  wonderfully  correct. 

All  these  things  are  very  wonderful,  but  the  cumulative 
value  of  the  evidence  is  too  great  for  any  one  to  pooh-pooh  it 
as  antecedently  impossible.  The  chances  against  it  being  a 
mere  coincidence  are  many  millions  to  one.  Strange  though 
these  may  be,  they  are  less  strange  than  the  cases  in  which  the 
clairvoyant  sees  the  past  as  if  it  were  the  present,  and  those 
other  rarer  cases  in  which  the  future  also  is  unfolded  to  the 
gaze. 

THE  BIRKBECK  DOUBLE. 

One  of  the  best  authenticated  cases  of  this  kind  is  what  is 
known  as  the  Birkbeck  Ghost.  It  is  told  as  follows  in  the 
"  Proceedings  of  the  Psychical  Research  " : 

In  1789  Mrs.  Birkbeck,  wife  of  William  Birkbeck,  banker,  of 
Settle,  and  a  member  of  the  Society  of  France,  was  taken  ill  and 
died  at  Cockermouth  while  returning  from  a  journey  to  Scot- 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  239 

land,  which  she  had  undertaken  alone — her  husband  and  three 
children,  aged  seven,  five  and  four  years  respectively,  remain- 
ing in  Settle.  The  friends  at  whose  house  the  death  occurred 
made  notes  of  every  circumstance  attending  Mrs.  Birkbeck^s 
last  hours,  so  that  the  accuracy  of  the  several  statements  as  to 
time  as  well  as  place  was  beyond  the  doubtfulness  of  man's 
memory,  or  of  any  even  unconscious  attempt  to  bring  them 
into  agreement  with  each  other.  One  morning  between  seven 
and  eight  o'clock  the  relation  to  whom  the  care  of  the  children 
had  been  entrusted,  and  who  kept  a  minute  journal  of  all  that 
concerned  them,  went  into  their  bedroom  as  usual  and  found 
them  all  sitting  up  in  bed  in  great  excitement  and  delight. 
*'  Mamma  has  been  here,"  they  cried,  and  the  little  one  said, 
"  She  called  '  Come,  Esther ! '  "  Nothing  could  make  them 
doubt  the  fact,  and  it  was  carefully  noted  down  to  entertain  the 
mother  when  she  came  home.  That  same  morning  as  their 
mother  lay  on  her  dying  bed  at  Cockermouth,  she  said,  "  I 
should  be  ready  to  go  if  I  could  but  see  my  children."  She 
then  closed  her  eyes,  to  reopen  them,  as  they  thought,  no  more. 
But  after  ten  minutes  of  perfect  stillness,  she  looked  up  brightly 
and  said,  "  I  am  ready  now ;  I  have  been  with  my  children,"  and 
then  at  once  peacefully  passed  away.  When  the  notes  taken  at 
the  two  places  were  compared,  the  day,  hour  and  minutes  were 
the  same.    (Vol.  I,  p.  122.) 

A  PARALLEL  TO  THE  BIRKBECK  DOUBLE. 

In  Dr.  Lees'  "  Glimpses  of  the  Supernatural,"  there  is  a  sim- 
ilar instance  which  differs  only  from  that  of  the  Birkbeck  Ghost 
in  being  more  recent  and  the  distance  between  the  mother  and 
the  children  greater,  for  she  was  dying  in  Egypt  when  she  ap- 
peared to  the  children  in  England.     The  story  is  as  follows : 

A  lady  and  her  husband  who  held  a  position  of  some  dis- 
tinction in  India  were  returning  home  (A.D.  1854)  after  an  ab- 
sence of  four  years  to  join  a  family  of  young  children  when  the 
former  was  seized  in  Egypt  with  an  illness  of  most  alarming 
character;  and  though  carefully  attended  by  an  English  physi- 
cian and  nursed  with  the  greatest  care,  grew  so  weak  that  little 


240  Book  of  Knowledge. 

or  no  hope  of  her  recovery  existed.  With  that  true  kindness 
which  is  sometimes  withheld  around  a  dying  bed,  she  was 
properly  and  painfully  informed  of  her  dangerous  state  and  bid- 
den to  prepare  for  the  worst.  Of  a  devout,  pious  and  reveren- 
tial mind,  she  is  reported  to  have  made  a  careful  preparation  for 
the  latter  end,  though  no  clergyman  was  at  hand  to  administer 
the  last  sacrament  or  to  aflford  spiritual  consolation.  The  only 
point  which  seemed  to  disturb  her  mind  after  the  delirium  of 
fever  had  passed  away  was  a  deep-seated  desire  to  see  her 
absent  children  once  more,  which  she  frequently  expressed  to 
those  attending  upon  her.  Day  after  day,  for  more  than  a 
week,  she  gave  utterance  to  her  longings  and  prayers,  remark- 
ing that  she  would  die  happily  if  only  this  one  wish  could  be 
gratified.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  her  departure  hence, 
she  fell  into  a  long  and  heavy  sleep,  from  which  her  attendants 
found  it  difficult  to  arouse  her.  During  the  whole  period  of  it 
she  lay  perfectly  tranquil.  Soon  after  noon,  however,  she 
awoke,  exclaiming,  "  I  have  seen  them  all,  I  have  seen  them. 
God  be  praised  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake ! "  and  then  slept  again. 
Towards  evening  in  perfect  peace  and  with  many  devout  ex- 
clamations, she  calmly  yielded  up  her  spirit  to  God  who  gave 
it.  Her  body  was  brought  to  England  and  buried  in  the  family 
burying-ground.  The  most  remarkable  part  of  this  incident 
remains  to  be  told.  The  children  of  the  dying  lady  were  being 
educated  in  Torquay  under  the  supervision  of  a  friend  of  the 
family.  At  the  very  time  that  their  mother  was  asleep  they 
were  confined  to  the  house  where  they  were  by  a  severe  storm 
of  thunder  and  lightning.  Two  apartments  on  one  floor,  per- 
fectly distinct,  were  then  occupied  by  them  as  play  and  recrea- 
tion rooms.  All  were  thus  gathered  together.  No  one  of  the 
children  was  absent.  They  were  amusing  themselves  with 
books  of  chance,  games  and  toys  in  company  of  the  nursemaid 
who  had  never  seen  their  parents.  All  of  a  sudden  their  mother, 
as  she  usually  appeared,  entered  the  larger  room  of  the  two, 
pausing,  looked  for  some  minutes  at  each  and  smiled,  passed 
into  the  next  room  and  then  vanished  away.  Three  of  the 
elder  children  recognized  her  at  once,  but  were  greatly  im- 
pressed and  disturbed  at  her  appearance,  silence  and  manner. 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  241 

The  younger  and  the  nursemaid,  each  and  all,  saw  a  lady  in 
white  come  into  the  smaller  room  then  slowly  glide  by  and  fade 
away. 

The  date  of  this  occurrence,  September  10,  1854,  was  care- 
fully noted,  and  it  was  afterwards  found  that  the  two  events 
above  recorded  happened  almost  contemporaneously.  A  record 
of  the  event  was  committed  to  paper  and  transcribed  on  the  fly- 
leaf of  the  family  Bible,  from  which  the  above  account  was 
taken  and  given  to  the  editor  of  this  book  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year  1871  by  a  relation  of  the  lady  in  question,  who  is  well 
acquainted  with  her  spectral  appearance  at  Torquay,  and  has 
vouched  for  the  truth  of  it  in  the  most  distinct  and  formal 
manner.  The  husband,  who  was  reported  to  have  been  of  a 
somewhat  skeptical  habit  of  mind,  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
occurrence,  and  though  it  is  seldom  referred  to  now,  it  is  known 
to  have  had  a  very  lasting  and  religious  effect  on  more  than 
one  person  who  was  permitted  directly  to  witness  it.  ("  Glimpses 
of  the  Supernatural,"  pp.  64-66.) 

FROM  ELSINORE  TO  DURHAM. 

The  number  of  apparitions  of  sailors  is  very  remarkable. 
Here  is  one  taken  from  Mr.  Kendal's  diary,  told  by  Mr.  Alder- 
man Fowler,  of  Durham.  Mr.  Fowler,  who  is  one  of  the 
patriarchs  of  the  north  of  England,  tells  the  story  as  follows : 

I  was  assistant  at  a  shop  in  Durham,  near  my  present  place 
of  business,  when  a  singular  circumstance  happened  to  me 
which  seemed  to  imply  that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  have,  at 
least  at  the  time  of  their  departure,  the  power  to  manifest 
themselves  to  survivors.  I  have  a  brother  whom  I  familiarly 
called  Mat,  who  was  a  sailor,  and  had  gone  on  a  voyage  to  the 
Baltic.  One  Saturday  afternoon  I  was  attending  to  a  customer, 
reckoning  up  an  amount  to  be  paid  after  serving  the  articles, 
when  I  happened  to  look  toward  the  window  and  saw  my 
brother  Mat  outside.  Our  eyes  met;  I  smiled  and  nodded  to 
him  and  said,  "  I  will  be  with  you  presently,"  or  something  of 
that  sort.  I  told  my  master  that  my  brother  Mat  had  come 
and  was  standing  outside.    I  was  immediately  released  from 


242  Book  of  Knowledge. 

my  engagement  with  the  customer  and  told  that  I  might  go  to 
my  brother  and  also  bring  him  to  sleep  with  me  in  the  shop. 
When  I  went  out  into  the  street,  expecting  to  see  my  brother 
Mat,  he  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  I  spent  all  the  evening  seek- 
ing for  him  at  places  where  he  might  have  called,  but  without 
success.  I  was  so  disturbed  at  this  that  I  went  off  home  to 
Shiney  Row  next  morning  to  see  if  they  knew  aught;  but  he 
had  not  been  there,  nor  had  they  heard  any  news  of  him.  But 
this  was  the  astounding  coincidence  which  I  learned  afterwards : 
Mat  died  in  the  hospital  at  Elsinore  about  the  time  when  I 
saw  him  standing  in  the  street  in  Durham.  The  date  was 
October  21,  1837. 

Alderman  Fowler,  who  is  still  living,  has  been  five  times 
Mayor  of  Durham.  His  son,  named  from  the  sailor  of  the 
vision,  has  been  Mayor  this  year  (1891). 

A  story  of  very  much  the  same  character,  describing  the 
vision  of  a  lieutenant  at  the  moment  of  death,  is  sent  me  by  a 
journalist  at  Bournemouth,  but  the  circumstances  are  not  such 
as  call  for  narration  at  length. 

A  GHOST  IN  A  BALL-ROOM. 

Here  are  some  other  stories  from  the  Psychical  Research 
Society.  One  was  that  in  which  a  ghost  appeared  in  a  ball- 
room and  was  seen  by  four  persons  at  one  time.  The  lady  was 
expecting  her  partner  at  the  ball,  was  waiting  indeed  for  his 
coming. 

Presently  as  she  was  standing  and  talking  to  three  of  these 
gentlemen,  Mr.  D.  A.,  Mr.  R.  P.,  and  another,  they  all  saw 
Mr.  W.  come  into  the  room,  look  calmly,  steadily  at  her  and 
pass  into  the  dining-room.  She  thought  it  strange  that  he  did 
not  come  to  speak  to  her,  and  alluded  to  it  to  the  other  gentle- 
men, saying  she  thought  Mr.  W.  was  really  the  rudest  man  she 
ever  saw,  and  laughing  followed  him  into  the  dining-room. 
There,  however,  he  was  not.  The  other  gentleman  had  seen 
him  as  well  as  she,  and  I  believe  her  mother  also.  The  time 
was  a  quarter  to  ten.  The  whole  affair  piqued  and  vexed  her 
a  good  deal.    The  next  morning  her  father  came  hastily  into 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  243 

the  room  and  asked  her  if  she  had  not  seen  Mr.  W.  the  night 
before.  She  said  "y^s,"  and  that  he  had  acted  very  oddly  in 
only  just  appearing  for  a  moment  and  not  even  speaking  to 
her.  Her  father  told  her  that  on  that  very  morning  his  body 
had  been  found  in  the  river.  His  watch  had  stopped  at  a 
quarter  to  ten,  which  was  the  hour  at  which  he  had  been  seen 
in  the  ball-room.  The  rose  Miss  H.  gave  him  was  still  in  his 
buttonhole. 

THE  LATEST  RECORDED  APPARITION. 

The  latest  ghost  in  our  collection  appeared  on  September 
30,  1891.  The  writer,  who  sends  me  his  name  and  address, 
requests  me  not  to  publish  it,  inasmuch  as  he  objects  to  be  pes- 
tered to  death  by  inquiries,  and  if  it  were  known  that  he  had 
seen  a  ghost  in  his  present  home,  he  would  be  left  without  any 
servants.    The  story  is  as  follows: 

I  am  a  "  Popish "  priest  stationed  in  a  country  district, 
lead  a  very  quiet  life,  and  am  free  from  excitements  of  any 
kind.  I  enjoy  excellent  health  and,  am  thankful  to  say,  possess 
a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body.  I  am  by  no  means  super- 
stitious, and  my  friends  describe  me  as  an  unimpressionable 
man.  On  the  afternoon  of  Wednesday,  the  30th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1891,  I  visited  one  of  my  sick  people,  a  man  who  had  been 
suffering  from  a  chest  disease  for  many  years.  I  heard  his 
confession  and  chatted  with  him  for  some  time,  left  the  house, 
promising  to  bring  him  Holy  Communion  the  following  morn- 
ing. I  walked  briskly  home,  a  distance  of  two  miles,  or  there- 
abouts, calling  at  one  house  on  the  way.  I  reached  my  cottage 
before  dusk,  and  while  my  servant  was  preparing  my  tea  I 
amused  myself  by  glancing  over  the  paper  which  had  arrived 
by  the  afternoon  post.  While  I  was  folding  over  the  sheet  I 
happened  to  look  across  the  room.  I  was  simply  astounded 
at  what  I  saw.  It  seemed  as  if  the  opposite  wall  had  disap- 
peared. I  distinctly  saw  poor  John's  (the  sick  man  I  had  vis- 
ited that  afternoon)  bed.  There  was  the  man  himself,  so  it 
seemed  to  me,  sitting  up  in  the  bed  and  looking  straight  at  me. 
I  saw  him  as  distinctly  as  I  now  see  this  paper  upon  which 


244  Book  of  Knowledge. 

I  write.  I  was  greatly  astonished,  but  by  no  means  frightened. 
I  sat  staring  at  the  apparition  for  some  five  seconds,  and  then 
it  gradually  disappeared  in  much  the  same  fashion  as  a  "  dis- 
solving view,"  the  wall  again  coming  back  to  sight  as  the 
other  picture  faded  away.  At  first  I  thought  that  it  had  no 
objective  reality  but  was  purely  subjective.  But  then  John  and 
his  illness  were  not  at  all  in  my  mind.  I  was  thinking 
about  what  I  was  reading.  I  had  often  visited  this  partic- 
ular man,  seen  many  sick  people,  and  had  been  present  at  the 
death  of  several ;  besides,  I  did  not  think  that  John  was,  as  yet, 
near  death. 

The  next  morning  as  I  was  entering  the  church  to  say  mass 
1  saw  John's  wife  in  the  porch,  crying.  "  Oh,  father !  "  she 
cried  out,  "  my  heart  is  broke,  O  father !  John,  my  dear  one, 
died  last  night  and  so  sudden.  You  hadn't  gone  an  hour 
scarce.  He  (John)  sits  up  in  his  bed  and  he  says,  '  Is  the 
father  gone,  Moll  ? '  *  Why,'  says  I,  '  didn't  you  say  good-bye 
to  he.  Jack?'  *  Ah,  yes,'  says  he,  *  but  I  wants  he.  I'm  bad, 
Moll.  I'm  a  dyin',  he's  to  say  mass  for  me,  mind  that,'  and 
with  your  name  on  his  lips,  father,  he  fell  back — dead."  I 
ascertained  that  it  was  heart  disease. 

I  did  not  mention  what  I  saw  to  the  woman,  nor  have  I 
mentioned  it  to  a  single  soul  except  to  yourself.  If  it  got 
known  that  I  had  seen  a  "  spirit "  in  my  house  it  would  be 
all  over  with  my  comfort.  My  housekeeper  would  pack  off, 
and  I  should  be  left  to  make  my  own  bed,  scrub  my  own  house 
down  and  cook  my  own  food.  You  must,  therefore,  accept  my 
statement  for  what  it  is  worth  in  your  own  estimation.  I  can 
only  give  you  my  bare  word  that  it  is  quite  true,  that  I  have 
no  wish  to  deceive,  and  that,  as  a  priest  of  God's  true  Church, 
I  should  not  so  far  forget  my  mission  as  to  propagate  a  false- 
hood. 

AN  IRISH  OUTRAGE  SEEN  IN  A  DREAM. 

One  of  the  best  stories  of  clairvoyance  as  a  means  of  throw- 
ing light  on  crime  is  thus  told  by  a  correspondent  of  the 
Psychical  Research  Society: 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.         '         245 

One  morning  in  December,  1836,  he  had  the  following 
dream,  or,  he  would  prefer  to  call  it,  revelation.  He  found  him- 
self suddenly  at  the  gate  of  Major  N.  M.'s  avenue,  many  miles 
from  his  home.  Close  to  him  was  a  group  of  persons,  one  of 
whom  was  a  woman  with  a  basket  on  her  arm,  the  rest  men, 
four  of  whom  were  tenants  of  his  own,  while  the  others  were 
unknown  to  him.  Some  of  the  strangers  seemed  to  be  mur- 
derously assaulting  H.  W.,  one  of  his  tenants,  and  he  inter- 
fered. I  struck  violently  at  the  man  on  my  left,  and  then  with 
greater  violence  at  the  man's  face  on  my  right.  Finding  to  my 
surprise  that  I  had  not  knocked  down  either,  I  struck  again 
and  again  with  all  the  violence  of  a  man  frenzied  at  the  sight 
of  my  poor  friend's  murder.  To  my  great  amazement  I  saw 
my  arms,  although  visible  to  my  eye,  were  without  substance, 
and  the  bodies  of  the  men  I  struck  at  and  my  own  came  close 
together  after  each  blow  through  the  shadowy  arms  I  struck 
with.  My  blows  were  delivered  with  more  extreme  violence 
than  I  ever  think  I  exerted,  but  I  became  painfully  convinced 
of  my  incompetency.  I  have  no  consciousness  of  what  hap- 
pened after  this  feeling  of  unsubstantiality  came  upon  me. 
Next  morning  A.  experienced  the  stiffness  and  soreness  of 
violent  bodily  exercise,  and  was  informed  by  his  wife  that  in 
the  course  of  the  night  he  had  much  alarmed  her  by  striking 
out  again  and  again  with  his  arms  in  a  terrific  manner,  "  as  if 
fighting  for  his  life."  He  in  turn  informed  her  of  his  dream, 
and  begged  her  to  remember  the  names  of  those  actors  in  it 
who  were  known  to  him.  On  the  morning  of  the  following 
day  (Wednesday)  A.  received  a  letter  from  his  agent,  who 
resided  in  the  town  close  to  the  scene  of  the  dream,  informing 
him  that  his  tenant  had  been  found  on  Tuesday  morning  at 
Major  N.  M.'s  gate,  speechless  and  apparently  dying  from  a 
fracture  of  the  skull,  and  that  there  was  no  trace  of  the  mur- 
derers. That  night  A.  started  for  the  town  and  arrived  there 
Thursday  morning.  On  his  way  to  a  meeting  of  magistrates 
he  met  the  senior  magistrate  of  that  part  of  the  country,  and 
requested  him  to  give  orders  for  three  men  whom,  besides 
H.  W.,  he  had  recognized  in  his  dream,  and  to  have  them  exam- 
ined separately.    This  was  at  once  done.    The  three  men  gave 


246  Book  of  Knowledge. 

identical  accounts  of  the  occurrence,  and  all  named  the  woman 
who  was  with  them.  She  was  then  arrested  and  gave  precisely 
similar  testimony.  They  said  that  between  eleven  and  twelve 
on  the  Monday  night  they  had  been  walking  homewards  alto- 
gether along  the  road  when  they  were  overtaken  by  three 
strangers,  two  of  whom  savagely  assaulted  H.  W.,  while  the 
other  prevented  his  friends  from  interfering.  H.  W.  did  not 
die,  but  was  never  the  same  man  afterward;  he  subsequently 
emigrated.    (Vol.  I,  pp.  142.) 

The  advantage  which  would  accrue  from  the  universal 
establishment  of  this  instantaneous  vision  would  not  be  un- 
mixed.    That  it  is  occasionally  very  useful  is  obvious. 

A  CLAIRVOYANT  VISION  OF  A  MURDER. 

The  most  remarkable  experiment  in  clairvoyant  detection 
that  I  have  ever  come  across  is  told  by  Dr.  Blackman,  of  Kal- 
mar,  in  a  recent  number  of  the  "  Psychical  Research  Society's 
Proceedings."     It  is  as  follows: 

In  the  month  of  October,  1888,  the  neighborhood  of  Kal- 
mar  was  shocked  by  a  horrible  murder  committed  in  the  parish 
of  Wissefjerda,  which  was  about  fifty  kilometres  from  Kalmar 
as  the  crow  flies.  What  happened  was  that  a  farmer  named 
P.  J.  Gustafsson  had  been  killed  by  a  shot  when  driving,  having 
been  forced  to  stop  by  stones  having  been  placed  on  the  road. 
The  murder  had  been  committed  in  the  evening  and  a  certain 
tramp  was  suspected,  because  Gustafsson  in  his  capacity  of 
under  baiHff  had  arrested  him,  and  he  had  then  undergone 
several  years'  penal  servitude. 

This  was  all  that  I  or  the  public  knew  about  the  case  on 
November  ist  of  the  same  year.  The  place  where  the  mur- 
der was  committed  and  the  persons  implicated  in  it  were  quite 
unknown  to  me  and  the  clairvoyant. 

On  the  same  day,  November  ist,  having  some  reason  to 
believe  that  such  a  trial  would  be  at  least  partially  successful, 
I  experimented  with  a  clairvoyant.  Miss  Agda  Olsen,  to  try 
if  it  was  possible  to  get  some  information  in  this  way  about 
such  an  event.  . 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  247 

The  judge  of  the  neighborhood,  who  had  promised  to  be 
present,  was  unfortunately  prevented  from  coming.  The  clair- 
voyant was  hypnotized  in  my  wife's  presence  and  was  then 
ordered  to  look  for  the  place  where  the  murder  had  been  com- 
mitted and  see  the  whole  scene,  follow  the  murderer  in  his 
flight,  and  describe  him  and  his  home  and  the  motives  for  the 
murder.  Miss  Olsen  then  spoke  as  follows,  in  great  agitation, 
sometimes  using  violent  gestures.  I  took  note  of  her  exact 
words  and  reproduce  them  here  fully: 

"  It  is  between  two  villages — I  see  a  road — in  a  wood — now 
it  is  coming — the  gun — now  he  is  coming  along,  driving — the 
horse  is  afraid  of  the  stones — ^hold  the  horse !  hold  the  horse ! 
now !  he  is  killing  him !  he  was  kneeling  when  he  fired — blood ! 
blood !  now  he  is  running  in  the  wood — seize  him ! — he  is  run- 
ning in  an  opposite  direction  to  the  horse  in  many  circuits — 
not  on  any  footpaths.  He  wears  a  cap  and  grey  clothes — light 
— has  long  coarse  brown  hair,  which  has  not  been  cut  for  a 
long  time — grey-blue  eyes — treacherous  looks — great  dark 
brown  beard — he  is  accustomed  to  work  on  the  land.  I  believe 
he  has  cut  his  right  hand.  He  has  a  scar  or  streak  between  his 
thumb  and  forefinger.     He  is  suspicious  and  a  coward. 

"The  murderer's  home  is  a  red  wooden  house,  standing  a 
little  way  back  from  the  road.  On  the  ground-floor  is  a  room 
which  leads  into  the  kitchen,  and  from  that  again  into  the  pas- 
sage. There  is  also  a  larger  room  which  does  not  communi- 
cate with  the  kitchen.  The  church  of  Wissefjerda  is  situated 
obliquely  to  your  right  when  you  are  standing  in  the  passage. 

"  His  motive  was  enmity ;  he  seems  as  if  he  had  bought 
something — taken  something — a  paper.  He  went  away  from 
home  at  daybreak,  and  the  murder  was  committed  in  the  even- 
mg. 

Miss  Olsen  was  then  awakened,  and,  like  all  my  subjects, 
she  remembered  perfectly  what  she  had  been  seeing,  which 
had  made  a  very  profound  impression  upon  her;  she  added 
several  things  which  I  did  not  write  down. 

On  November  6th  (Monday)  I  met  Miss  Olsen  and  she 
told  me  in  great  agitation  that  she  had  met  the  murderer 
from  Wissefjerda  in  the  street.     He  was  accompanied  by  a 


248  Book  of  Knowledge. 

younger  person  and  followed  by  two  policemen,  and  was  walk- 
ing from  the  police  office  to  the  jail.  I  at  once  expressed  my 
doubts  of  her  being  right,  partly  because  country  people  are 
generally  arrested  by  the  country  police,  partly  because  they 
are  always  taken  directly  to  the  jail.  But  when  she  had  in- 
sisted upon  it,  and  maintained  that  it  was  the  person  that  she 
had  seen  when  asleep,  I  went  to  the  police  office. 

I  inquired  if  any  one  had  been  arrested  on  suspicion  of  the 
crime  in  question,  and  a  police-constable  answered  that  such 
was  the  case,  and  that  as  they  had  been  taken  to  the  town  on 
Sunday,  they  had  been  kept  in  the  police  station  over  night, 
and  after  that  had  been  obliged  to  go  on  foot  to  jail,  accom- 
panied by  two  constables.  The  police-constable,  T.  A.  Ljung, 
stated  that  Dr.  Blackman  described  quite  accurately  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  house,  its  furniture,  how  the  rooms  were  sit- 
uated, where  the  suspected  man  lived,  and  gave  a  very  correct 
account  of  Niklas  Jonnasson's  personal  appearance.  The  doc- 
tor also  asked  me  if  I  had  observed  that  Jonnasson  had  a  scar 
on  his  right  hand.  I  had  not  then  observed  it,  but  since  then 
I  have  really  ascertained  that  it  is  so,  and  Jonnasson  says  he 
got  it  from  an  abscess. 

The  trial  was  a  long  one  and  showed  that  Gustafsson  had 
agreed  to  buy  from  Jonnasson,  but  in  his  own  name,  the  lat- 
ter's  farm,  which  was  sold  by  auction  on  account  of  Jonnasson's 
debts.  This  is  what  is  called  a  thief's  bargain.  Gustafsson 
bought  the  farm,  but  kept  it  for  himself.  The  statements  of 
the  accused  man  were  very  vague;  the  father  had  prepared  an 
alibi  with  much  care,  but  it  failed  on  account  for  just  the  length 
of  time  that  was  provably  enough  to  commit  the  murder  in. 
The  son  tried  to  prove  an  alibi  by  means  of  two  witnesses,  but 
these  confessed  that  they  had  given  false  evidence,  which  he 
had  bribed  them  to  do  when  they  were  in  prison  with  him  on 
account  of  another  matter. 

But  though  the  evidence  against  the  defendants  was  very 
strong  it  was  not  considered  that  there  was  sufficient  legal 
evidence,  and  there  being  no  jury  in  Sweden,  they  were  left 
to  the  verdict  of  posterity  (pp.  213-216). 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  249 

MAJOR  POOLE'S  GHOST  REPORTS  HIS  DEATH. 

The  most  remarkable  of  all  those  which  are  recorded  by 
the  Psychical  Research  Society  is  that  which  tells  how  Major 
Poole,  who  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Lang's  Neck  in  the 
Transvaal,  reported  his  own  death  in  London  to  his  friend, 
Colonel  H.,  many  hours  before  the  telegraphic  despatches 
brought  news  that  the  battle  had  been  fought.  The  story  is 
so  complete  in  itself  and  so  remarkable  in  every  respect  that 
I  quote  the  whole  of  the  evidence  as  it  stands  in  the  Report 
of  the  Society.    Colonel  H.  writes: 

February  13,  1886. 

I  am  not  a  believer  in  ghosts,  spirit  manifestations,  or  eso- 
teric Buddhism.  It  has  been  my  lot — a  lot  sought  by  myself 
over  and  over  again,  and  never  falling  to  me  by  chance — to 
sleep  in  well-known  or  rather  well-believed-to-be  haunted 
rooms.  I  have  endeavored  to  encounter  ghosts,  spirits  of 
beings  (if  you  like)  from  another  world,  but  like  other  good 
things  that  one  seeks  for  in  life,  without  success.  When  I 
least  expected  it,  however,  I  experienced  a  visitation  so  re- 
markable in  its  phenomena,  so  realistic  in  its  nature,  so  sup- 
ported by  actual  facts,  that  I  was  constrained  at  the  request 
of  my  friend  to  put  my  experience  into  writing. 

The  narrator  then  described  how,  nearly  twenty-three  years 
before,  he  had  formed  a  friendship  with  two  brother  subalterns, 
J.  P.  and  J.  S.,  and  how  his  intercourse  with  J.  P.  had  been 
continued  at  intervals  up  to  the  time  of  the  Transvaal  War, 
when  J.  P.  was  ordered  out  upon  the  staff.  J.  S.  was  already 
upon  the  scene  of  action.  Both  had  now  attained  major's  rank, 
the  narrator  himself  had  left  the  service  some  years  previously. 

In  the  morning  that  J.  P.  was  leaving  London  to  embark 
for  the  Cape  he  invited  the  narrator  to  breakfast  with  him  at 
the  club,  and  they  finally  parted  at  the  club  door. 

"  Good-bye,  old  fellow,"  I  said,  "  we  shall  meet  again,  I 
hope." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  meet  again." 

I  can  see  him  now  as  he  stood  smart  and  erect,  with  his 


250  Book  of  Knowledge. 

bright  black  eyes  looking  intently  into  mine.  A  wave  of  his 
hand  as  the  hansom  whirled  off  and  he  was  gone. 

The  Transvaal  War  was  at  its  height.  One  night  after 
reading  in  the  library  of  the  club  I  had  gone  to  my  rooms  late. 
It  must  have  been  nearly  one  o'clock  when  I  turned  into  bed. 
I  had  slept  perhaps  some  three  hours  or  more  when  I  woke 
with  a  start.  The  grey  dawn  was  stealing  in  through  the 
windows  and  the  light  fell  sharply  and  distinctly  on  the  mili- 
tary chest  of  drawers  that  stood  in  the  further  end  of  the  room, 
and  which  I  had  carried  about  with  me  everywhere  during  my 
service.  Standing  by  my  bed,  between  me  and  my  chest  of 
drawers,  I  saw  a  figure  which  in  spite  of  the  unwonted  dress — 
unwonted,  at  least,  to  me — and  of  a  full  black  beard,  I  at  once 
recognized  as  that  of  my  old  brother  officer.  He  had  on  the 
usual  kharki  coat  worn  by  officers  on  active  service  in  eastern 
climates,  a  brown  leather  strap,  which  might  have  been  the 
strap  of  his  field  service  glass,  crossed  his  breast.  A  brown 
leather  girdle  with  sword  attached  to  his  left  side,  and  his 
revolver  case  on  the  right,  passed  round  his  waist.  On  his 
head  he  wore  the  ordinary  white  pith  helmet  of  the  service.  I 
noted  all  these  particulars  in  the  moment  that  I  started  from 
sleep,  and  sat  up  in  bed  looking  at  him.  His  face  was  pale, 
but  his  black,  bright  eyes  shone  as  keenly  as  when,  a  year  and 
a  half  before,  they  had  looked  at  me  as  he  stood  with  one  foot 
on  the  hansom  bidding  me  adieu. 

Fully  impressed  for  the  brief  moment  that  we  were  sta- 
tioned together  at  C in  Ireland  or  somewhere,  and  think- 
ing that  I  was  in  my  barrack-room,  I  said,  "  Hello,  P. !  Am  I 
late  for  parade  ?  " 

P.  looked  at  me  and  replied,  "  I'm  shot." 

"Shot!"  I  exclaimed,  "Good  God!     How  and  where?" 

"  Through  the  lungs,"  replied  P.,  and  as  he  spoke  his  right 
hand  moved  slowly  up  the  breast  until  the  fingers  rested  upon 
the  right  lung. 

"  What  were  you  doing  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  The  General  sent  me  forward,"  he  answered,  and  the  right 
hand  left  the  breast  to  move  slowly  to  the  front,  pointing  over 
my  head  to  the  window,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  figure 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  251 

melted  away.  I  rubbed  my  eyes  to  make  sure  that  I  was  not 
dreaming  and  sprang  out  of  bed.  It  was  then  4.10  p.m.  by  the 
clock  on  my  mantelpiece. 

I  felt  sure  that  my  old  friend  was  no  more,  and  what  I  had 
seen  was  only  his  apparition.  But  yet  how  account  for  the 
voice,  the  ready  and  distinct  answers?  That  I  had  seen  a 
spirit,  certainly  something  that  was  not  flesh  and  blood,  and 
that  I  had  conversed  with  it,  were  alike  indisputable  facts.  But 
how  to  reconcile  these  apparent  possibilities?  The  thought 
disquieted  me,  and  I  longed  for  the  hour  when  the  club  would 
open  and  I  could  get  a  chance  of  learning  from  the  papers  any 
news  from  the  seat  of  war  in  the  Transvaal.  The  hours  passed 
feverishly.  I  was  first  at  the  club  that  morning,  and  snatched 
greedily  at  the  first  newspaper.  No  news  of  the  war  what- 
ever. 

I  passed  the  day  in  a  more  or  less  unquiet  mood,  and  talked 
over  the  whole  circumstance  with  an  old  brother  officer. 
Colonel  W.  He  was  as  fully  impressed  with  the  apparition  as 
I  was.  The  following  morning  I  was  again  a  solitary  member 
at  the  club,  and  seized  with  avidity  the  first  paper  that  came  to 
my  hand.  This  time  my  anxiety  was  painfully  set  at  rest,  for 
my  eyes  fell  at  once  on  the  brief  lines  that  told  of  the  battle 
of  Lang's  Neck,  and  on  the  list  of  killed,  foremost  among  them 
all  being  poor  J.  P.  I  noted  the  time  that  the  battle  was 
fought,  calculated  it  with  the  hour  at  which  I  had  seen  the 
figure  and  found  that  it  almost  coincided.  From  this  simple 
fact  I  could  only  surmise  that  the  figure  had  appeared  to  me  in 
London  almost  at  the  moment  that  the  fatal  bullet  had  done 
its  work  in  the  Transvaal. 

Two  questions  now  arose  to  my  mind.  First,  as  to  proof 
that  poor  P.  happened  to  wear  that  particular  uniform  at  the 
time  of  his  death  and  whether  he  wore  a  beard — ^which  I  my- 
self had  never  seen  him  wear.  Second,  whether  he  had  met 
his  death  in  the  manner  indicated,  viz.,  by  a  bullet  through  his 
right  lung.  The  first  facts  I  established  beyond  dispute  about 
six  months  afterwards,  through  an  officer  who  had  been  at 
the  battle  of  Lang's  Neck  and  had  been  invalided  home.  He 
confirmed  every  detail.    The  second  fact  was   confirmed  by 


252  Book  of  Knowledge. 

no  less  a  person  than  J.  S.,  more  than  a  year  after  the  occur- 
rence, he  having  also  left  the  Cape,  the  war  being  over.  On 
asking  J.  S.  how  poor  P.,  our  brother  officer,  was  shot,  he 
replied,  "  Just  here,"  and  his  fingers  travelled  up  his  breast  just 
as  the  fingers  of  the  figure  had  done  until  they  rested  over  the 
very  spot,  over  the  right  lung. 

I  have  set  down  the  foregoing  without  any  attempt  at  em- 
bellishment, exactly  as  everything  occurred. 

We  find  from  the  London  Gazette  that  the  battle  in  which 
Major  P.  was  killed  began  (according  to  General  EUey's 
despatch)  at  9.30  a.m.  on  January  28,  1881.  Major  P.  was 
probably  killed  between  11  a.m.  and  12  m.,  which  would  be 
between  nine  and  ten  in  London,  the  diflference  of  time  being 
a  little  over  two  hours.  I  drew  Colonel's  H.'s  attention  to  this 
point,  and  the  impossibility  that  the  dawn  should  be  beginning 
at  4.10  A.M.  at  that  time  of  year,  and  he  sent  the  following 
reply : 

February  20,  1886. 

It  may  have  been  7.10  and  not  4.10.  The  impression  now, 
writing  after  some  years  interval,  is  that  it  was  4.10  a.m.,  but  I 
may  be  wrong. 

All  I  know  is  that  I  calculated  the  time  at  the  time,  with 
the  hour  at  which  the  battle  was  fought,  and  it  was  to  all 
practical  purposes  the  same  time. 

It  was  a  winter  morning  and  the  blinds  were  down  over  the 
window.  The  morning  light  at  7  a.m.  in  a  winter  month  com- 
ing through  the  blinds  would  not  be  much  stronger  than  the 
morning  light  at  4  a.m.  in  a  summer  month,  under  the  same 
circumstances.  Hence  I  may  have  been  mistaken  in  the  hour, 
or  the  clock  might  have  stopped  unknown  to  me  at  4.10  a.m. 
that  day,  or  even  the  day  before. 

The  first  account  of  the  battle  of  Lang's  Neck  appeared  in 
the  Times,  Telegraph,  and  Daily  News  of  Saturday,  January  29, 
1881,  "  No  list  of  casualties."  The  first  announcement  of 
Major  Poole's  death  was  in  a  telegraphic  despatch  from  the 
Transvaal,  dated  January  28th,  and  received  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  War  in  London  on  the  29th.  "  Killed :  Major 
Poole,  Royal  Artillery,"  and  it  appeared  in  the  Observer  of  Sun- 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  253 

day,  January  30th,  and  in  the  three  above  mentioned  papers 
on  the  31st  (Monday). 

The  precise  date  of  this  vision  is  now  irrecoverable;  but 
Mr.  Gurney,  who  discussed  the  matter  with  Colonel  H.,  con- 
cludes that  the  apparition  probably  occurred  after  the  death, 
and  certainly  occurred  before  the  death  was  announced  in 
England.    (Vol.  V,  pp.  412-415.) 

A  GHOST  IN  THE  SUNLIGHT. 

Mr.  Archer's  vision  was  that  of  an  unmistakably  dead  man, 
and  so  is  the  following,  which  I  quote  from  the  "  Proceedings 
of  the  Psychical  Research  Society."  The  story  is  told  by  the 
Rev.  Gerard  Louis,  of  St.  Paul's  Vicarage,  Margate.     He  says : 

It  was  a  hot  and  bright  afternoon  in  summer,  and  as  if  it 
were  only  yesterday  I  remember  perfectly  well  walking  down 
the  broad  bright  street  in  the  bright  afternoon.  I  had  to  pass 
the  house  of  P.  I  remarked,  indeed,  that  all  his  window  blinds 
were  drawn  carefully  down,  as  if  to  screen  his  furniture,  of 
which  his  wife  was  inordinately  proud,  from  the  despoiling  rays 
of  the  afternoon  sun.  I  smiled  inwardly  at  the  thought.  I 
then  left  the  road  and  stepped  upon  the  side  pavement,  and 
looked  over  the  area  rails  and  into  the  court  below.  A  young 
man  dressed  in  dark  clothes  and  without  a  hat,  and  apparently 
about  twenty,  was  standing  at  the  steps.  On  the  instant,  from 
his  likeness  to  my  friend  P.,  I  seemed  to  recognize  his  son. 
We  both  stood  and  looked  very  hard  at  each  other.  Suddenly, 
however,  he  advanced  to  that  part  of  the  area  which  was 
immediately  below  where  I  was  standing,  fixed  on  me  a  wide, 
dilated,  winkless  sort  of  stare,  and  halted.  The  desire  to  speak 
was  evidently  legible  on  his  face,  though  nothing  audible 
escaped  his  lips.  But  his  eyes  spoke — spoke  as  it  were,  in 
silent  language,  in  which  reproach  and  pain  seemed  to  be 
equally  intermingled.  At  first  I  was  startled;  and  then  I  be- 
came angry.  "  Why,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  does  he  look  at  me 
in  that  manner  ?  "  At  last  annoyance  prevailed  over  surprise ; 
I  turned  away  with  the  half-muttered  thought,  "  He  certainly 
knows  me  by  sight  as  a  friend  of  his  father,  and  yet  he  has  not 


254  Book  of  Knoivledge. 

the  civility  to  salute  me.  I  will  call  on  the  first  opportunity 
and  ask  his  reason  for  such  behavior."  I  then  pursued  my 
way  and  thought  no  more  of  what  had  occurred. 

On  Wednesday  it  was  my  turn  to  officiate  at  the  local 
cemetery  and,  to  my  surprise,  I  had  to  bury  Mr.  P.'s  son.  I 
lost  no  time  in  calling  upon  Mr.  P.  and  his  wife.  I  found  the 
latter  at  home,  and  what  she  had  to  say  only  made  me  more 
uncomfortable  still.  James  Henry  P.  died  terribly  in  earnest, 
wishing  in  vain  to  the  last  that  I  would  come,  on  the  Thursday 
before  the  Sunday  on  which  I  had  seen  him.  He  had  died  too 
in  the  front  room  on  a  level  with  the  area  into  which  its  window 
opened.  He  had  also  lain  there  until  the  Wednesday  follow- 
ing, awaiting  burial.  His  corpse,  then,  was  lying  in  that  very 
room  on  the  very  Sunday,  and  at  the  very  moment,  too,  that 
I  had  seen  his  living  hkeness,  as  it  were  in  the  area  outside 

(pp.  93,  94,  95). 

This  ghost  in  the  sunlight  ought  to  have  been  photographed. 


TWO    DOUBLES    SUMMON    A    PRIEST    TO    THEIR 
DEATH-BEDS. 

The  next  narrative  should  rather  have  come  under  the  head 
of  premonitions,  but  as  the  premonition  in  this  case  was  ac- 
companied by  an  apparition,  I  include  it  in  the  present  chapter. 
It  is,  in  its  way,  even  more  remarkable  than  the  story  of  my 
schoolfellow.  It  is  more  recent,  it  is  prophetic,  and  the  appar- 
itions of  two  living  men  appeared  together  to  predict  the  day 
of  their  death.  The  narrative  rests  on  the  excellent  authority 
of  the  Rev.  Father  Fleming,  the  hard-working  Catholic  priest 
of  SHndon,  in  Sussex.  I  heard  of  it  from  one  of  his  parishion- 
ers who  is  a  friend  of  mine,  and  on  applying  to  Father  Fleming, 
he  was  kind  enough  to  write  out  the  following  account  of  his 
strange  experience,  for  the  truth  of  every  word  of  which  he 
is  prepared  to  vouch.  In  all  the  wide  range  of  spectral  liter- 
ature I  know  no  story  that  is  quite  like  this : 

I  was  spending  my  usual  vacation  in  Dublin,  in  the  year 
i868,  I  may  add  very  pleasantly,  since  I  was  staying  at  the 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  255 

house  of  an  old  friend  of  my  father's,  and  whilst  there  was 
treated  with  the  attention  which  is  claimed  by  an  honored 
guest,  and  with  as  much  kindness  and  heartiness  as  if  I  were  a 
member  of  his  family.  I  was  perfectly  comfortable  and  per- 
fectly at  home.  As  to  my  professional  engagements,  I  was 
free  for  the  whole  time  of  my  holiday,  and  could  not  in  any 
manner  admit  to  a  scruple  or  doubt  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
my  work  was  done  in  my  absence,  for  a  fully  qualified  and 
earnest  clergyman  was  supplying  for  me.  Perhaps  this  pre- 
amble was  necessary  to  show  that  my  mind  was  at  rest,  and 
that  nothing  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  would  have  called 
me  so  suddenly  and  abruptly  to  the  scene  of  my  labors  at 
Woolwich.  I  had  a  week  of  my  unexpired  leave  of  absence  yet 
to  run  when  what  I  am  about  to  relate  occurred  to  me.  No 
comment  or  explanation  is  offered.     It  is  simply  a  narrative. 

I  had  retired  to  rest  at  night,  my  mind  perfectly  at  rest, 
and  slept,  as  young  men  do  in  robust  health,  until  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  appeared  to  me  about  that  hour 
that  I  was  conscious  of  a  knock  at  the  door.  Thinking  it  to 
be  the  man-servant  who  was  accustomed  to  call  me  in  the 
morning,  I  at  once  said,  "  Come  in ! "  To  my  surprise  there 
appeared  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  two  figures,  one  a  man  of 
medium  height,  fair  and  well  fleshed,  and  the  other  tall,  dark 
and  spare,  both  dressed  as  artisans  belonging  to  Woolwich 
Arsenal.     On  asking  them  what  they  wanted,  the  shorter  man 

replied,  "  My  name  is  C s.     I  belong  to  Woolwich.     I  died 

on of ,  and  you  must  attend  me." 

Probably  the  novelty  of  the  situation  and  feelings  attendant 
upon  it  prevented  me  from  noticing  that  he  used  the  past 
tense.    The  reply  which  I  received  from  the  other  man  was 

alike  in  form,  "  My  name  is  M 11.    I  belong  to  Woolwich. 

I  died  on of ,  and  you  must  attend  me."  I  then  re- 
marked that  the  past  tense  had  been  used  and  cried  out, 
"  Stop !  you  said  *  died,'  and  the  day  you  mentioned  has  not 
come  yet !  "  at  which  they  both  smiled  and  added,  "  We  know 
this  very  well;  it  was  done  to  fix  your  attention,  but "  and  they 
seemed  to  say  very  earnestly  and  in  a  marked  manner — "you 
must  attend  us ! "  at  which  they  disappeared,  leaving  me  awe- 


256  Book  of  Knowledge, 

stricken,  surprised  and  thoroughly  aroused  from  sleep. 
Whether  what  I  narrate  was  seen  during  sleep,  or  when  wholly 
awake  I  do  not  pretend  to  say.  It  appeared  to  me  that  I  was 
perfectly  awake  and  perfectly  conscious.  Of  this  I  had  no 
doubt  at  the  time,  and  I  can  scarcely  summon  up  a  doubt  as  to 
what  I  heard  and  saw  while  I  am  telling  it.  As  I  had  lighted 
my  lamp,  I  arose,  dressed,  and  seating  myself  at  a  table  in  the 
room,  read  and  thought,  and  I  need  hardly  say,  from  time  to 
time  prayed,  and  fervently,  until  day  came.  When  I  was  called 
in  the  morning  I  sent  a  message  to  the  lady  of  the  house  to 
say  that  I  should  not  go  to  the  University  Chapel  to  say  Mass 
this  morning,  and  should  be  present  at  the  usual  family  break- 
fast at  nine. 

On  entering  the  dining-room  my  hostess  very  kindly  in- 
quired after  my  health,  naturally  surmising  that  I  had  omitted 
Mass  from  illness,  or  at  least  want  of  rest  and  consequent 
indisposition.  I  merely  answered  that  I  had  not  slept  well, 
and  that  there  was  something  weighing  heavily  upon  my  mind 
which  obliged  me  to  return  at  once  to  Woolwich.  After  the 
usual  regrets  and  leave-takings,  I  started  by  the  midday  boat 
for  England.  As  the  first  date  mentioned  by  my  visitors  gave 
me  time,  I  travelled  by  easy  stages,  and  spent  more  than  two 
days  on  the  road,  although  I  could  not  remain  in  Dublin  after 
I  had  what  appeared  to  me  then,  and  appears  to  me  still,  a 
solemn  warning. 

On  my  arrival  at  Woolwich,  as  may  be  easily  imagined,  my 
brother  clergy  were  very  much  puzzled  at  my  sudden  and  un- 
looked-for return  and  concluded  that  I  had  lost  my  reckoning, 
thinking  that  I  had  to  resume  my  duties  a  week  earlier  than  I  was 
expected  to  do.  The  other  assistant  priest  was  waiting  for 
my  return  to  start  on  his  vacation — and  he  did  so  the  very 
evening  of  my  arrival.  Scarcely,  however,  had  he  left  the  town 
when  the  first  of  my  visitors  sent  in  a  request  for  me  to  go  at 
once  to  attend  him.  You  may,  perhaps,  imagine  my  feelings 
at  that  moment.  I  am  sure  that  you  cannot  realize  them  as  I 
do  even  now  after  the  lapse  of  so  many  years.  I  lost  no  time. 
I  had,  in  truth,  been  prepared,  except  hat  and  umbrella,  from 
the  first  hour  after  my  return.     I  went  to  consult  the  books 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  257 

in  which  all  the  sick  calls  are  entered  and  to  speak  to  our  aged, 
respected  sacristan  who  kept  them.  He  remarked  at  once, 
"  You  do  not  know  this  man,  father ;  his  children  come  to  our 
school,  but  he  is,  or  has  always  been,  considered  as  a  Protes- 
tant." Expressing  my  surprise,  less  at  the  fact  than  at  his 
statement,  I  hurried  to  the  bedside  of  the  sufferer.  After  the 
first  few  words  of  introduction  were  over  he  said,  "  I  sent  for 
you,  father,  on  Friday  morning  early  and  they  told  me  that 
you  were  away  from  home,  but  that  you  were  expected  back  in 
a  few  days,  and  I  said  I  would  wait."  I  found  the  sick  man 
had  been  stricken  down  by  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  and  that 
the  doctor  gave  no  hope  of  his  recovery,  yet  that  he  would 
probably  linger  some  days.  I  applied  myself  very  earnestly 
indeed  to  prepare  the  poor  man  for  death.  Again  the  next 
day,  and  every  day  until  he  departed  this  life,  did  I  visit  him 
and  spent  not  minutes  but  hours  by  his  bedside. 

A  few  days  after  the  first  summons  came  the  second.  The 
man  had  previously  been  a  stranger  to  me  but  I  recognized 
him  by  his  name  and  appearance.  As  I  sat  by  his  bedside  he 
told  me,  as  the  former  had  already  done,  that  he  had  sent 
for  me,  had  been  told  that  I  was  absent,  and  had  declared  that 
he  would  wait  for  me.  Thus  far  their  cases  were  alike.  In 
each  case  there  was  a  great  wrong  to  be  undone,  a  conscience 
to  be  set  right  that  had  erred  and  erred  deeply — and  not 
merely  that,  it  is  probable,  from  the  circumstances  of  their 
lives,  that  it  was  necessary  that  their  spiritual  adviser  should 
have  been  solemnly  warned.  They  made  their  peace  with  God, 
and  I  have  seldom  assisted  at  a  deathbed  and  felt  greater  con- 
solation than  I  did  at  each  and  both  of  these.  Even  now,  after 
the  lapse  of  many  years,  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  I  received 
a  very  solemn  warning  in  Dublin,  and  am  not  far  wrong  in 
calling  it  the  Shadow  of  Death. 

T.  O.  Fleming. 

A  MANCHESTER  PARALLEL. 

The  following  narrative,  supplied  by  Mr.  R.  P.  Roberts,  10 
Exchange  Street,  Manchester,  appears  in  the  "  Proceedings  of 


258  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  Psychical  Research  Society."    It  is  a  fitting  pendant  to 
Mr.  Kidd's  story: 

The  shop  stood  at  the  corner  of  Castle  Street  and  Rating 
Row,  Beaumaris,  and  I  lived  in  the  latter  street.  One  day  I 
went  home  to  dinner  at  the  usual  hour.  When  I  had  partly 
finished  I  looked  at  the  clock.  To  my  astonishment  it  ap- 
peared that  the  time  by  the  clock  was  12.30.  I  gave  an  un- 
usual start.  I  certainly  thought  that  it  was  most  extraordinary. 
I  had  only  half  finished  my  dinner,  and  it  was  time  for  me  to 
be  at  the  shop.  I  felt  dubious,  so  in  a  few  seconds  had  another 
look,  when  to  my  agreeable  surprise  I  found  that  I  had  been 
mistaken.  It  was  only  just  turned  12.15.  I  could  never  ex- 
plain how  it  was  that  I  made  the  mistake.  The  error  gave  me 
such  a  shock  for  a  few  minutes  as  if  something  had  happened, 
and  I  had  to  make  an  effort  to  shake  off  the  sensation.  I 
finished  my  dinner  and  returned  to  business  at  12.30.  On 
entering  the  shop  I  was  accosted  by  Mrs.  Owen,  my  em- 
ployer's wife,  who  used  to  assist  in  the  business.  She  asked 
me  rather  sternly  where  I  had  been  since  my  return  from  din- 
ner. I  replied  that  I  had  come  straight  from  dinner.  A  long 
discussion  followed,  which  brought  out  the  following  facts. 
About  a  quarter  of  an  hour  previous  to  my  actually  entering 
the  shop  (i.e.,  about  12.15),  I  was  seen  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen 
and  a  well-known  customer,  Mrs.  Jones,  to  walk  into  the  shop, 
go  behind  the  counter  and  place  my  hat  upon  the  peg.  As  I 
was  going  behind  the  counter  Mrs.  Owen  remarked,  with  the 
intention  that  I  should  hear,  "  that  I  had  arrived  now  that  I 
was  not  wanted."  This  remark  was  prompted  by  the  fact  that 
a  few  minutes  previous  a  customer  was  in  the  shop  in  want  of 
an  article  which  belonged  to  the  stock  under  my  charge,  and 
which  could  not  be  found  in  my  absence.  As  soon  as  the  cus- 
tomer left  I  was  seen  to  enter  the  shop.  It  was  observed  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  and  Mrs.  Jones  that  I  did  not  appear  to 
notice  the  remark  made.  In  fact  I  looked  quite  absent-minded 
and  vague.  Immediately  after  putting  my  hat  on  the  peg  I 
returned  to  the  same  spot,  put  on  my  hat  again  and  walked 
out  of  the  shop,  still  looking  in  a  mysterious  manner,  which 
incensed  one  of  the  parties,  I  think  Mrs.  Owen,  to  say  that  my 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  259 

behavior  was  very  odd,  and  she  wondered  where  I  was  off  to. 
I,  of  course,  contradicted  these  statements,  and  endeavored 
to  prove  that  I  could  not  have  eaten  my  dinner  and  returned 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  This,  however,  availed  nothing,  and 
during  our  discussion  the  above-mentioned  Mrs.  Jones,  came 
into  the  shop  again  and  was  appealed  to  at  once  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Owen.  She  corroborated  every  word  of  their  account 
and  added  that  she  saw  me  coming  down  Rating  Row  when 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  shop ;  that  she  was  only  a  step  or  two 
behind  me  and  entered  the  shop  in  time  to  hear  Mrs.  Owen's 
remark  about  my  coming  too  late.  These  three  persons  gave 
their  statements  of  the  affair  quite  independently  of  each  other. 
There  was  no  other  person  near  my  age  in  the  Owen's  estab- 
lishment, and  there  could  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  my 
form  had  been  seen  by  them  and  by  Mrs.  Jones.  They  would 
not  believe  my  story  until  my  aunt,  who  had  dined  with  me, 
said  positively  that  I  had  not  left  the  table  before  my  time  was 
up.  You  will  notice,  no  doubt,  the  coincidence.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  I  felt,  with  a  startling  sensation,  that  I  ought  to  be 
at  the  shop,  and  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  were  extremely 
anxious  that  I  should  be  there,  I  appeared  to  them  looking,  as 
they  said,  "  as  if  in  a  dream  or  in  a  state  of  somnambulism." 
("  Proceedings  of  the  P.  R.  S.,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  135-136.) 


SOME  STORIES  FROM  THE  SEA. 

There  are  several  stories  of  a  similar  kind  recorded  by  the 
Psychical  Research  Society.  A  curious  one  is  a  narrative  (sent 
by  Engineer  Dunlop,  of  Bangkok,  Siam),  of  an  apparition  seen 
"  when  the  ship  was  under  all  plain  sail  off  the  pitch  of  Cape 
Horn,"  when  the  seaman  who  had  started  aloft  to  bend  the 
foretop-gallant  flung  his  arms  around  the  top-gallant  shrouds 
and  held  on  without  moving  till  he  was  lowered  on  deck  in  the 
bight  of  a  bowline.  For  as  he  "  kept  looking  to  the  windward 
at  the  squall,  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  it  he  saw  his  sweet- 
heart, dressed  in  white  flowing  robes,  who  came  flying  down 


26o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

towards  him  before  the  wind,"  and  who,  as  it  afterwards 
proved,  had  died  in  England  at  that  very  time. 

Another  seafaring  story  is  communicated  to  a  correspond- 
ent by  Lord  Charles  Beresford,  and  by  him  sent  to  the  Psy- 
chical Research  Society: 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1864,  whilst  on  board  H.M.S. 
Racoon  between  Gibraltar  and  Marseilles,  that  I  went  into 
my  office  on  the  main  deck  to  get  a  pipe,  and  as  I  opened  the 
door  I  saw  my  father  lying  in  his  coffin  as  plainly  as  I  could. 
It  gave  me  an  awful  jerk,  and  I  immediately  told  some  of 
the  fellows  who  were  smoking  just  outside  in  the  usual  place 
between  the  guns,  and  I  also  told  dear  old  Onslow,  our  chap- 
lain, a  few  days  after  we  arrived  at  Marseilles  and  I  heard  of 
my  father's  death,  and  he  had  been  buried  that  very  day  and  at 
the  time,  half  past  twelve  in  the  day.  I  may  add  that  at  the 
time  it  was  a  bright,  sunny  day,  and  I  had  not  been  fretting 
about  my  father,  as  the  latest  news  I  had  of  him  was  that, 
although  very  ill,  he  was  better.  My  dear  old  father  and  I 
were  great  chums,  more  so  than  is  usual  between  a  man  of 
seventy-two  and  a  boy  of  twenty,  our  respective  ages  then. 

I  KNOW  IT  WILL  COME  TRUE. 

A  much  more  painful  story  and  far  more  detailed  is  con- 
tained in  the  fifth  volume  of  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Psychical 
Research  Society,"  on  the  authority  of  C.  F.  Fleet,  of  26  Gros- 
venor  Road,  Gainsborough.  He  swears  to  the  authenticity  of 
the  facts.  The  detailed  story  is  full  of  the  fascination  which 
attaches  to  the  struggles  of  a  brave  man,  repeatedly  warned  of 
his  coming  death,  struggling  in  vain  to  avert  the  event  which 
was  to  prove  fatal,  and  ultimately  perishing  within  the  sight 
of  those  to  whom  he  had  revealed  the  vision.  The  story  in 
brief  is  as  follows :  Mr.  Fleet  was  third  mate  on  the  sailing  ship 
"Persian  Empire,"  which  left  Adelaide  for  London  in  1868. 
One  of  the  crew,  Cleary  by  name,  dreamed  before  starting  that 
on  Christmas  morning  as  the  "  Persian  Empire  "  was  passing 
Cape  Horn  in  a  heavy  gale  he  was  ordered  with  the  rest  of 
his  watch  to  secure  a  boat  hanging  in  davits  over  the  side. 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions,  261 

He  and  another  got  into  the  boat  when  a  fearful  sea  broke  over 
the  ship,  washing  them  out  of  the  boat  into  the  sea  where 
they  were  both  drowned.  The  dream  made  such  an  impres- 
sion upon  him  that  he  was  reluctant  to  join  the  ship,  but  he 
overcame  his  scruples  and  sailed.  On  Christmas  Eve  when 
they  were  nearing  Cape  Horn,  Cleary  had  a  repetition  of  his 
dream,  exact  in  all  particulars.  He  uttered  a  terrible  cry,  and 
kept  muttering,  "  I  know  it  will  come  true."  On  Christmas 
Day,  exactly  as  he  had  foreseen,  Cleary  and  the  rest  of  the 
watch  were  ordered  to  secure  a  boat  hanging  in  the  davits. 
Cleary  flatly  refused.  He  said  he  refused  because  he  knew  he 
would  be  drowned,  that  all  the  circumstances  of  his  dream  had 
come  true  up  to  that  moment,  and  if  he  went  into  that  boat  he 
would  die.  He  was  taken  below  to  the  captain,  and  his 
refusal  to  discharge  duty  was  entered  in  the  log.  Then  the 
chief  officer,  Douglas,  took  the  pen  to  sign  his  name.  Cleary 
suddenly  looked  at  him  and  exclaimed,  "  I  will  go  to  my  duty, 
for  now  I  know  the  other  man  in  my  dream."  He  told 
Douglas,  as  they  were  on  deck,  of  his  dream.  They  got  into 
the  boat  and  when  they  were  all  making  tight  a  heavy  sea 
struck  the  vessel  with  such  force  that  the  crew  would  have 
been  washed  overboard  had  they  not  clung  to  the  mast.  The 
boat  was  turned  over  and  Douglas  and  Cleary  were  flung  into 
the  sea.  They  swam  for  a  little  time  and  then  went  down.  It 
was  just  three  months  after  he  had  dreamed  of  it  before  leaving 
Adelaide. 

Here  we  have  inexorable  destiny  fulfilling  itself  in  spite  of 
the  struggles  of  its  destined  victim.  It  reminds  me  of  a  well- 
known  Oriental  story,  which  tells  how  a  friend  who  was  with 
Solomon  saw  the  Angel  of  Death  looking  at  him  very  intently. 
On  learning  from  Solomon  who  the  strange  visitor  was,  he 
felt  very  uncomfortable  under  his  gaze,  and  asked  Solomon  to 
transport  him  on  his  magic  carpet  to  Damascus.  No  sooner 
said  than  done.  Then  said  the  Angel  of  Death  to  Solomon, 
"  The  reason  why  I  looked  so  intently  at  your  friend  was  be- 
cause I  had  orders  to  take  him  at  Damascus,  and  behold,  I 
found  him  at  Jerusalem.  Now,  therefore,  that  he  has  trans- 
ported himself  thither  I  shall  be  able  to  obey  my  orders." 


262  Book  of  Knowledge, 

"THE  GATE  THAT  CLANGED." 

Quite  recently — in  fact  in  June,  1891 — the  Rev.  H.  Chap- 
man published  in  the  Ushaw  College  Magazine  a  story,  without 
giving  genuine  names,  of  an  apparition  which  had  sufficient 
truth  about  it  to  convert  the  writer  to  the  Catholic  faith.  Mr. 
Chapman  says  that  in  telling  the  story  persons  and  places  are 
changed  and  details  added,  but  the  backbone  of  it  is  genuine 
and  in  other  particulars.  The  story,  briefly  told,  is  as  follows: 
Mr.  Chapman  was  at  school  in  England;  he  spent  his  holidays 
with  his  uncle,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  visits  from  va- 
rious friends,  including  among  others  a  Catholic  priest,  whom  he 
called  Reuben  Crockford.  Father  Crockford  had  the  peculiarity 
of  clanging  the  garden  gate.  It  was  a  tiresome  gate  to  open  and 
shut,  and  they  always  knew  when  Father  Crockford  came  because 
he  always  gave  the  gate  a  vicious  little  kick  with  his  heel  after  he 
had  entered,  so  that  it  sent  it  with  some  force  against  the  latch, 
making  it  rebound,  and  then  closing  it  again  with  another  clang. 
This  mode  of  gate  shutting  was  peculiar  to  Father  Crockford,  who 
always  did  it  and  was  never  mistaken.  One  time  there  was  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  at  his  uncle's  house.  His 
uncle  said  the  resurrection  occurred  too  long  a  time  ago,  he 
wanted  present  evidence.  "  Now  if  you  came  back  from  the 
dead  and  told  me  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  true,  that  would 
be  evidence,"  he  said.  Father  Crockford  replied,  "  If  I  die 
first,  and  God  permit  me,  I  will  come  back  and  tell  you,  for  I 
would  do  anything  to  see  you  converted  to  the  faith."  Three 
years  after  that  conversation  Mr.  Chapman  was  again  spending 
his  holidays  with  his  uncle.  One  morning  his  uncle  came 
down  late  to  breakfast  and  said  that  he  had  been  dreaming  all 
night  that  Father  Crockford  was  coming  that  day.  He 
ordered  his  room  to  be  made  ready  and  he  put  off  dinner  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  in  order  to  allow  him  more  time  to  arrive. 
Mr.  Chapman  was  reading  a  book  in  the  study  when  his  uncle 
went  down  to  the  gate  to  meet  Father  Crockford.  Suddenly 
he  heard  a  double  clang,  the  clang  of  the  gate  that  Father 
Crockford  alone  ever  gave,  and  the  invariable  precursor  of  his 
visits.    Thinking  his  uncle's  presentiment  had  come  true,  he 


A  Record  of  Authentic  Apparitions.  263 

laid  down  his  book  and  looked  out  of  the  window  to  catch  a 
first  glimpse  of  his  visitor.  As  he  did  so  he  looked  at  his 
watch,  it  was  just  ten  minutes  past  five.  He  saw  the  good 
priest  emerge  from  the  bushes,  he  was  walking  rather  quickly, 
and  carried  his  black  bag  which  he  always  brought  with  him. 
His  uncle  also  saw  him,  called  welcome  to  him,  and  shouted  to 
him  to  stop  until  he  came  to  him.  He  did  not  do  so  but  went 
up  to  the  front  door  and  looked  in  at  the  window.  Mr.  Chap- 
man nodded  and  smiled,  but  the  priest  took  no  notice  of  his 
salutation.  The  dog  howled  and  fled  away.  Then  he  felt  a 
curious  cold  wind  at  the  roots  of  his  hair,  and  he  noticed  that 
the  priest's  eyes  looked  somewhat  as  if  they  were  gazing  into 
eternity,  and  that  his  face  was  deathly  pale.  Again  the  dog 
gave  a  low  howl,  and  the  sound  of  a  deep  sigh  at  his  ear  made 
Mr.  Chapman  spring  from  his  seat  in  an  agony  of  terror.  His 
uncle  then  came  in  and  ordered  the  dinner  bell  to  be  rung,  ex- 
claiming in  high  glee,  "  I  knew  I  was  right.  He  has  come." 
The  dinner  was  served  but  the  priest  did  not  come  down,  the 
bell  was  rung  again  and  as  he  still  did  not  come,  they  sent 
up  to  his  room,  when  to  their  blank  amazement  they  found 
that  no  one  was  there,  and  the  door  was  locked  on  the  out- 
side. The  house  was  searched  from  cellar  to  garret,  but  he 
could  not  be  found.  Next  morning  his  uncle  handed  Mr. 
Chapman  a  letter  from  the  Presbytery  which  informed  him  that 
the  Rev.  Reuben  Crockford  had  died  the  previous  day.  The 
letter  ran  as  follows: 

He  intended  to  have  paid  you  a  visit  yesterday,  and  had 
got  as  far  as  the  railway  station,  when  being  seized  with  sudden 
failure  at  the  heart,  he  fell  fainting  to  the  platform  and  was 
carried  in  a  dying  state  into  the  waiting  room.  One  of  his 
brother  priests  was  hastily  summoned,  who  administered  to 
him  the  consolation  of  our  holy  religion,  and  he  also  had  the 
best  available  medical  assistance.  Unhappily  all  efforts  were 
useless  and  he  calmly  expired  at  ten  minutes  past  five,  his  last 
words  being,  "  John,  there  is  a  life  to  come." 

"What  do  you  think  of  that?"  said  his  uncle.  "  I  think," 
said  Mr.  Chapman,  "  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  true."  Mr. 
Chapman  joined  the  Catholic  Church  and  is  now  a  priest,  on 


264  Book  of  Knowledge. 

account  of  the  vision  of  the  good  priest  whom  he  describes 
under  the  pseudonym  of  the  Rev.  Reuben  Crockford. 

I  have  communicated  with  the  editor  of  the  Ushaw  Col- 
lege Magazine,  but  he  objects  to  pubHshing  the  names  of  the 
persons  concerned,  and  indeed  objects  to  further  publicity. 
The  story,  however,  is  pubHc  property,  and  a  very  remarkable 
story  it  is. — By  permission  of  " Publishers'  Plate  Renting  Co" 


CHAPTER  X, 

REPORT   ON    SPIRITUALISM    OF   THE   COMMITTEE 
OF  THE  LONDON    DIALECTICAL   SOCIETY. 

Together  with  the  Evidence^  Oral  and  Written,  and  a 
Selection  from  the  Correspondence. 

Tuesday,  April  13,  1869. 
Dr.  Edmonds,  Chairman. 

Mr.  H.  D.  Jencken,  Barrister-at-Law,  read  the  following  paper 
on  "  Spiritualism,  its  Phenomena,  and  the  Laws  that  Regulate 
its  Origin  "  : 

"  In  dealing  with  the  question  of  Spiritualism  we  have  to 
combat  several  most  difficult  objections  raised  by  those  who 
oppose  our  views.  Firstly,  the  facts  are  denied,  and  the  dreadful 
tedious  process  of  establishing  these  by  instances  overburdens 
the  lecturer  until  both  his  strength  and  the  patience  of  the  audi- 
ence become  exhausted.  Secondly,  where  the  facts  are  even 
allowed,  the  cui  bono  is  thrust  forward  with  unhesitating  urgency, 
and  the  lecturer  finds  himself  driven  upon  ground  quite  foreign 
to  a  scientific  inquiry.  If  the  facts  exist,  I  care  little  for  the  cui 
bono;  if  true  as  a  fact,  depend  upon  it,  they  have  some  use  al- 
lowed them.  I,  for  one,  deny  the  antiquated  theory,  that  whatever 
exists  must  be  manifestly  beneficial  to  us  mortals,  and  for  our 
special  good,  to  warrant  its  continuance.  The  facts  are  present, 
and  there  I  rest  contented;  if,  however,  I  am  asked  to  form  an 
opinion,  I  would  suggest  that  the  study  of  the  laws  of  differently 
constituted  physical  states  that  co-exist  with  this,  to  our  senses, 
recognizable  reality,  is  a  vast  subject  for  study,  which  study 
necessarily  leads  to  the  knowledge  of  profounder,  deeper  seated 
truths,  and  possibly  to  the  more  intimate  recognition  of  our 
future  state.  I  may,  assuming  this  to  be  my  view,  urge  that  the 
study  of  Spiritualism  has  been  beneficial  to  me  individually  and, 
I  hope,  may  be  so  to  my  fellowmen.    But  I  repeat,  I  do  not  take 


266  Book  of  Knowledge. 

this  stand,  my  ground  is  one  of  fact  and  scientific  inquiry.  And 
to  these  I  confine  myself. 

''  I  will  not  this  evening  tax  your  patience  with  an  account  of 
the  history  of  the  progress  of  Spiritualism  from  the  days  of  the 
celebrated  Rochester  rappings  to  the  present  hour;  nor  with  a 
narrative  of  the  spiritual  teachings  of  the  past;  these  you  will 
find  recorded  in  William  Howitt's  excellent  work  on  the  *  History 
of  the  Supernatural '  ;  in  De  Morgan's  work  '  From  Matter  to 
Spirit/  or  Spicer's  book,  entitled,  *  Sights  and  Sounds,'  the  latter 
furnishing  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  present  movement. 
For  those  who  require  further  information,  I  would  recommend 
the  works  of  Judge  Edmonds,  G.  T.  Dexter,  Governor  Talmadge, 
A.  J.  Davis,  M.  Hornung,  late  secretary  of  the  Berlin  Magnetic 
Association,  or  M.  M.  Dupotet,  Puysegur,  Deleuze,  Billot,  Kar- 
dec;  all  of  which  the  student  may  consult  with  profit,  and  more 
especially  the  valuable  work  of  Professor  Hare's.  Suffice  it  then 
if  I  tell  you,  that  upwards  of  500  works  have  been  published 
by  different  authors  upon  Spiritualism  and  its  phenomena,  and 
that  periodicals  on  the  subject  are  being  published  in  all  known 
languages. 

"  I  repeat,  I  will  not  deal  with  these  historical  data,  but  pro- 
pose to  confine  myself  to  an  examination  of  the  phenomena ;  and 
having  done  this,  will,  with,  I  avow,  great  diffidence  on  my  part, 
state  my  views.  And  thus  premising,  I  will  give  you  a  statement 
of  facts;  in  rendering  these,  I  will  endeavor  to  classify  spiritual 
phenomena  into  different  groups;  and  firstly,  the  purely  physical 
phenomena,  such  as  the  movement  and  raising  of  ponderable 
bodies  without  visible  contact,  and  to  which  class  the  levitations 
of  the  body  of  the  medium  belongs.  These  levitations  you  will 
find  recorded  as  having  occurred  as  far  back  as  the  year  1347 
(see  Spiritual  Magazine,  November,  1868) — and  another  in- 
stance is  cited  as  having  taken  place  in  the  year  1697.  On  the 
latter  occasion,  a  certain  Margaret  Rule  is  described  as  having 
been  raised  to  the  ceiling  of  her  room ;  and  Goethe  refers  to  the 
wonderful  fact  of  levitation  in  his  life  of  Phillipinari.  The 
levitations  of  Mr.  Home  are  so  well  known  that  I  need  not  more 
than  allude  to  them — upwards  of  one  hundred  levitations  have 
taken  place  during  his  lifetime,  of  which  perhaps  the  most  re- 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    267 

markable  was  the  carrying  of  his  body  out  of  one  window  of  the 
third  floor,  at  Ashley  House,  into  an  adjoining  window ;  and  the 
lifting  of  his  body  raised  three  or  four  feet  off  the  ground  at 
Adare  Manor  for  20  or  30  yards.  As  regards  the  lifting  of 
heavy  objects,  these  I  can  testify  to  myself ;  I  have  seen  the  semi- 
grand  at  my  house  raised  horizontally  18  inches  off  the  ground, 
and  kept  suspended  in  space  two  or  three  minutes.  I  have  also 
witnessed  a  square  table  being  lifted  one  foot  off  the  ground, 
no  one  touching  or  near  it  at  the  time,  a  friend  present  seated  on 
the  carpet  and  watching  the  phenomena  all  the  time.  I  have 
also  seen  a  table  lifted  clear  over  head,  six  feet  off  the  ground; 
but  what  may  appear  more  remarkable,  I  have  witnessed  an 
accordion  suspended  in  space  for  ten  or  twenty  minutes,  and 
played  by  an  invisible  agency.  But  I  need  not  multiply  the  in- 
stances of  the  moving  and  carrying  of  bodies  without  visible 
contact,  these  I  hold  may  be  conceded  as  established  facts. 

"  The  second  group  of  phenomena  is  that  of  the  producing 
of  raps,  or  knocks,  to  which  no  doubt  the  tradition  of  the 
Poltergeister  owes  its  origin.  These  telegraphic  signs,  for  such 
in  truth  they  are,  need  no  confirmation  on  my  part;  they  are  so 
common  that  thousands  even  in  this  town  have  heard  them, 
and  have  further  received  messages  spelt  out  by  these  means: 
The  well-known  alphabetical  method  being  usually  employed,  I 
have  known  messages  spelt  out  by  the  tilting  of  a  semi-grand 
piano  at  my  own  house,  accompanied  by  loud  raps,  no  one  at  the 
time  being  in  contact  or  within  several  feet  of  the  instrument.  I 
have  heard  sentences  spelt  out  by  the  strings  of  the  piano  being 
struck  by  invisible  agencies. 

"  The  third  group  of  phenomena  includes  the  uttering  of 
words,  sentences,  sounding  of  music,  singing,  and  the  producing  of 
sounds  in  imitation  of  birds ;  and  these  sounds  produced  without 
any  visible  agencies  being  present.  The  most  remarkable  instance 
of  this  kind  I  ever  witnessed  was  at  Great  Malvern,  at  the  house 
of  Dr.  Gully,  on  which  occasion  I  heard,  as  far  as  I  could  make 
out,  three  voices  chanting  a  hymn,  accompanied  by  music  played 
on  an  accordion  suspended  in  space,  eight  or  nine  feet  off  the 
ground. 

"  At  the  passing  away  of  an  old  servant  of  our  household,  a 


268  Book  of  Knowledge. 

strain  of  solemn  music,  at  about  four  in  the  morning,  was,  by 
the  nurse  and  servants,  heard  in  the  room  of  the  dying  woman ; 
the  music  lasting  fully  twenty  minutes. 

"  The  fourth  group  of  phenomena  includes  playing  on  musical 
instruments,  the  drawing  of  flowers,  figures,  and  writing,  by 
direct  spiritual  unseen  agency.  Of  these  facts  innumerable  in- 
stances are  on  record,  and  I  mention  the  books  of  Mr.  B.  Cole- 
man and  Baron  Guldenstube  as  valuable  publications  upon  this 
phase  of  spiritual  phenomena.  Instances  have  since  multiplied 
beyond  number,  and  within  the  last  few  days,  at  Mr.  Child's,  I 
am  informed  drawings  have  been  made  by  invisible  agencies. 

"  I  have  thus  far  given  an  account  of  the  more  usual  phenom- 
ena, and  will  now  proceed  to  describe  others  not  less  interesting, 
but  of  rarer  occurrence — and  firstly,  the  Fire  Test.  I  have  myself 
witnessed  the  Fire  Test  many  times.  I  have  seen  Lord  Adare 
hold  in  the  palm  of  his  hand  a  burning  live  coal,  which  Mr.  Home 
had  placed  there,  so  hot  that  the  mere  momentary  contact  with 
my  finger  caused  a  burn.  At  Mr.  S.  C.  Hall's  a  large  lump  of 
burning  coal  was  placed  on  his  head  by  Mr.  Home;  and  only 
within  these  last  few  days,  a  metal  bell,  heated  to  redness  in  the 
fire,  was  placed  on  a  lady's  hand  without  causing  injury.  At 
Mrs.  Henning's  house,  Norwood,  I  have  seen  Mr.  Home  place 
his  face  into  the  flames  of  the  grate,  the  flame  points  penetrat- 
ing through  his  hair  without  causing  injury.  Respecting  these 
truly  marvellous  Fire  Tests,  I  refer  to  the  monthly  journal  Hu- 
man Nature  and  to  the  Spiritual  Magazine  (1868,  November — 
December). 

"  The  next  class  of  phenomena  are  those  extraordinary  elonga- 
tions of  the  medium's  body,  of  which  we  read  in  the  '  History  of 
the  Mystics,'  but  until  witnessed  could  scarcely  be  credited.  It  has 
been  my  good  fortune  to  witness  the  elongation  and  shortening  of 
Mr.  Home's  person  many  times,  and  at  Mr.  S.  C.  Hall's  about 
three  months  ago,  Mr.  Home  and  a  Miss  Bertolacci  were  simulta- 
neously elongated.  The  elongation  usually  takes  place  from  the 
hip,  a  span  wide,  and  on  one  occasion  I  measured  an  extreme 
elongation  of  the  body  of  fully  eight  inches.  The  shortening 
of  the  body  is  equally  marvellous.  I  have  witnessed  Mr.  Home 
shrinking  down  to  about  five  feet :  again,  as  described  in  Human 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    269 

Nature,  March,  1869, 1  have  measured  the  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion of  the  hand,  arm  and  leg.  Fortunately  these  expansions 
and  contractions  have  been  witnessed  by  fifty  people  at  the  very 
least,  and  are  now  placed  beyond  doubt. 

"  I  will  pass  over  the  numerous  phenomena  of  holding  fluids 
in  space  without  vessels  to  contain  them ;  extracting  liquids  from 
bottles,  which  I  have  witnessed;  nor  will  I  burden  you  with 
a  description  of  the  perfuming  of  water,  or  extracting  the  scent 
from  flowers,  or  the  alcohol  from  spirits  of  wine;  but  will  pass 
to  the  appearance  of  hands,  arms,  and  spirit  forms,  wholly  or 
in  part  developed.  Fortunately  within  the  last  few  months  in- 
stances have  repeated  themselves,  so  that  I  could  name  a  score 
of  witnesses,  within  the  circle  of  my  own  friends,  who  have  seen 
spirit  forms  or  appearances.  As  these  facts  go  far  towards  es- 
tablishing the  truth  of  spiritualistic  phenomena,  I  will,  with  your 
permission,  dwell  more  upon  these  manifestations. 

"  Spirit  hands  are  usually  luminous,  and  appear  and  reappear 
all  but  instantaneously.  I  have  once  been  enabled  to  submit 
a  spirit  hand  to  pressure.  The  temperature  was,  as  far  as  I  could 
judge,  the  same  as  that  of  the  room,  and  the  spirit  hand  felt  soft, 
velvety;  dissolving  slowly  under  the  greatest  amount  of  pressure 
to  which  I  could  submit  it.  I  have,  however,  been  informed  by 
friends  that  they  have  seen  spirit  hands  break  a  stout  piece  of 
plank  in  two,  and  that  the  temperature  of  the  hands,  tested  by  a 
delicate  thermometer,  was  usually  equal  to  that  of  the  room. 

"  Spirit  Forms. — They  usually  appear  with  the  head  and  bust 
developed  and  very  luminous,  the  outline  rarely  well  defined, 
and  generally  the  form  seems  to  float  rather  than  to  walk.  These 
appearances,  however,  present  very  different  aspects  at  different 
times.  I  have  often  urged  upon  my  friends  to  get  some  facts  to 
guide  in  ascertaining  the  physical  property  or  character  of  these 
forms.  At  a  friend's  house,  some  short  time  ago,  the  spirit  form 
cast  a  shadow  and  slightly  obscured  the  light  of  the  gas-burner; 
again,  at  Ashley  House,  Capt.  Smith  and  others  present,  the  form 
appeared  quite  opaque  and  solid.  Only  a  few  weeks  ago,  at 
Mr.  S.  C.  Hall's,  a  spirit  form,  very  luminous  in  appearance,  was 
seen,  but  the  outline  ill-defined.  The  form  remained  visible  for 
three  or  four  minutes,  and  sufficiently  long  for  two  of  those  pres- 


270  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ent  to  make  a  drawing  of  the  same.  I  have  seen  a  spirit  form 
at  a  seance  held  at  Dr.  Gully's,  September,  1867.  The  form  ap- 
peared luminous — the  top  rounded  off.  I  could  not  distinguish 
the  features.  The  height  was  middle  sized,  and  the  form  ap- 
peared to  me  like  a  luminous  column  or  cloud.  On  passing  to 
my  left,  and  close  to  Dr.  Gully,  I  noticed  that  the  luminosity  of 
the  figure  cast  a  glow  of  light  upon  my  friend.  The  form,  as  it 
stood  next  to  me,  spoke  several  words,  audible  to  all,  and  then 
walked  to  the  fireplace  at  the  end  of  the  room ;  the  floor  vibrating 
again  to  the  heavy  footstep. 

"  On  the  evening  I  first  attended  a  seance  at  the  Dialectical, 
Mr.  Home  and  some  friends  met  later  on  at  Ashley  House;  on 
this  occasion  I  had  more  opportunity  of  investigating  the  phe- 
nomena of  spiritual  appearance.  A  figure  draped,  in  what  ap- 
peared like  a  transparent  loose  gauze,  or  veil,  passed  to  and  fro 
imaged  on  the  wall,  which  had  become  luminous;  the  figure  ap- 
peared to  stand  out  in  ill-defined  relief.  This  phenomenon  re- 
peated itself  over  and  over  again,  the  figure  disappearing  when- 
ever those  present  became  too  positive;  of  this  Mr.  Home,  who 
was  in  a  trance  the  whole  time,  warned  us.  When  I  say  too  pos- 
itive I  mean  '  too  intent.'  A  figure  also  developed  itself  next 
to  and  above  Mr.  Home  as  he  stood  half  covered  by  the  curtains 
against  the  light  of  the  window ;  but  the  outline  was  so  indistinct 
I  could  not  well  discern  its  form.  These  appearances,  or  spiritual 
forms,  are  far  more  usually  witnessed  at  seances  than  is  ordi- 
narily supposed,  and  I  could  instance  many  other  cases  equally 
marked  and  characteristic  as  those  related;  for  instance,  the  boy 
of  Mrs.  Cox,  who  passed  away  some  months  ago,  was  seen  by 
Lord  Adare  and  spoke  to  him.  The  housekeeper  at  Ashley 
House  has  seen  spirit  forms  at  Ashley  House,  and  recognized 
the  face  and  the  voice.  At  my  house  the  Master  of  Lindsay 
observed  the  spirit  form  of  Mr.  Home's  late  wife  clearly  de- 
fined ;  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  the  Master  of  Lindsay  tells 
me  that  the  figure  appeared  to  him  in  profile;  whilst  Mr.  Home 
noticed  that  the  figure  stood  in  full  enface  as  it  bent  over  his  bed. 

"  But  I  must  not  multiply  instances.  The  inward  seeing  of 
spirit  forms,  which  only  mediums  or  seers  have  the  power,  is  of 
great  interest,  and  opens  a  wide  field  for  inquiry.    The  descrip- 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    271 

tion  of  these  visions,  or  as  I  believe  actual  seeings,  by  the  inward 
organ  of  sight,  confirm  in  a  measure,  the  form  and  appearance 
of  the  spirit  forms  visible  to  a  number  of  people,  and  such  as 
I  have  already  described.  The  forms  seen  vary  in  appearance, 
though  as  a  rule  the  seers  described  them  as  enveloped  in  a  semi- 
luminous  cloud,  the  head  and  shoulders  are  described  as  in  clear 
outline;  or  the  figures  appear  in  shadowy  outline,  though  per- 
fectly solid,  and  to  move  about  at  will,  but  so  transparent  that 
objects  are  seen  through  them.  The  forms  vary  from  a  white 
luminous  transparency  to  a  darkish  tint  of  grey  or  brown.  I 
have  seen  these  shadowy  figures,  though  only  very  exceptionally, 
and  not  under  conditions  that  enabled  me  to  institute  a  minuter 
investigation.  In  all  these  phenomena  it  is  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance to  determine  what  conditions  favor,  what  conditions  inter- 
rupt their  appearance. 

''  I  have  now  to  treat  with  the  Identity  of  Spirits,  that  is,  the 
evidence  that  the  spiritual  beings  present,  either  visible  or  com- 
municating by  the  telegraphic  raps,  are  those  of  soul-beings — of 
some  one  having  formerly  resided  on  this  earth.  Numerous  in- 
stances are  given  by  different  writers,  but  I  prefer  mentioning 
cases  within  my  own  knowledge,  or  those  of  my  immediate  friends. 
In  the  instance  of  the  spirit  form  of  the  boy  of  Mrs.  Cox,  the 
voice  and  appearance  was  unmistakably  that  of  the  departed  child. 
The  spirit  form  seen  by  me  at  Malvern  I  recognized  by  the 
voice,  the  words  spoken,  and  the  meaning  of  those  words. 

"At  Mrs.  Hennings'  house,  Norwood,  at  a  seance  at  which 
Mr.  Home  was  present,  a  communication  was  made,  recalling  an 
event  which  occurred  at  Dr.  Elliotson's  some  thirty  years  ago. 
It  appeared  that  Mrs.  Hennlngs  had  attended  with  a  clairvoyant 
child,  Ellen  Dawson,  at  Dr.  Elliotson's  who  behaved  very  abruptly 
on  that  occasion.  The  incident  had  even  escaped  Mrs.  Hennlngs' 
memory  and  only  was  recalled  to  her  mind  by  the  mentioning 
of  the  scene  on  that  evening  by  Mr.  Home  in  his  trance  state, 
and  in  which  state  he  personified  the  late  Dr.  Elliotson. 

"  I  have  now  given  you  data  enough  to  enable  you  to  follow 
me  in  the  conclusions  I  have  arrived  at.  I  need  not  remind  you 
that  the  great  physical  forces  of  nature,  namely,  light,  heat, 
motion,  electricity,  chemical  action,  etc.,  are  ascribed  to  unseen 


272     -  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ether  waves:  a  subtile,  all-pervading  cosmic  ether  is  supposed  to 
fill  space,  and  the  mere  change  of  the  nature  of  its  vibration 
producing  light,  heat,  electricity,  mechanical  motion,  etc.  I 
need,  also,  not  remind  you  that  the  undulatory  theory  of  Huy- 
gens,  of  Young,  has  been  combatted  by  Leonard  Euler  and  Mr. 
Grove;  and  a  molecular  theory  substituted,  with  change  of  po- 
laric  position  of  the  final  molecules,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
ultimate  form  of  matter,  but  which  Grove  conceives  conducts  us 
to  dynamic  agencies;  unless  we  accept  Professor  Huxley's  pro- 
toplasms, or  primary  elementary  fluids — for  what  else  are  his 
elements? — and  give  to  these  an  ever-continuing  permanency. 

"  We  have  thus  our  great  physicists  driven  to  the  accepting 
of  theories  by  which  they  admit  unseen  agencies ;  and  Mr.  Grove 
is  quite  right  when  he  tells  us  that  ultimately  we  are  obliged  to 
admit  a  dynamic  force  to  light  and  its  correlates.  If  time  al- 
lowed I  would  give  you  all  that  has  been  said  on  this  subject.  I 
must  to-day  content  myself  by  presuming  on  your  forbearance, 
and  repeat  with  the  great  thinkers,  that  the  physical  forces  are 
only  comprehensible  as  the  exponents  of  dynamic,  unseen  agen- 
cies. This  reasoning  takes  me  to  ground  further  advanced  in 
the  direction  I  am  pursuing.  I  ask,  what  are  the  causes  of  these 
dynamic  physical  forces,  those  great  agencies  that  uphold,  in  their 
all-potent  grasp,  this  globe  we  live  on  and  all  other  cosmic  bodies  ? 
I  further  ask,  whence  arise  the  vital  organic  powers  that  set  the 
dead  material  of  Professor  Huxley's  protoplasm  in  motion,  and 
create  forms  of  life?  The  ephemeral  existence  of  animal  life 
itself  induces  the  question,  for  what  becomes  of  the  vital  powers 
of  animals — the  soul-beings  of  men?  Their  numbers  must  be 
reckoned  by  myriads  upon  myriads ;  it  matters  not  when,  but  the 
day  of  repletion  must  come ;  this  ever-continuing  creation  of  be- 
ings must  ultimately  require  space,  for  space  is,  after  all,  a  termin- 
able quantity,  and  Materialists  pretend  to  teach  us  that  the  theory 
of  extinction  and  absorbtion  of  soul-beings  (with  Hegel  at  their 
head)  after  death  answers  this  question. 

"  I  have  no  time  to  combat  their  views,  but  I  put  it  to  them, 
whether  they  admit  the  permanency  of  the  material ;  if  they  do, 
this  is  my  case;  for  to  admit  the  everlasting  presence  of  the 
material  and  deny  that  of  the  cause  is  a  contradiction  self-evi- 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    273 

dent  on  its  very  face.  What,  then,  will  be  asked  is  the  view  I 
have  ventured  to  form  for  myself  ?  How  is  the  mystery  of  birth, 
life  and  death  to  be  explained?  What  is  the  cause  of  the  action 
of  the  dynamical  forces  which  physicists  recognize?  How  do  I 
explain  vital  action  and  those  kindred  phenomena  of  mesmerism  ? 
What  do  spiritual  phenomena  disclose?  I  will,  in  as  few  words 
as  possible,  explain  to  you  my  theory. 

"  The  material  physical  world,  the  cosmic  bodies — for  the 
property  of  light,  proves  that  all  solar  systems  obey  one  common 
law  of  physical  force — is  sustained  by  a  very  few  primary,  ele- 
mentary laws,  represented  by  primary,  elementary  or  basic  sub- 
stances. 

"  Why,  I  ask  with  Professor  De  Morgan,  should  the  Creator 
have  fashioned  only  10  or  20  elements  out  of,  say,  one  million 
of  primary  elements,  and  these  few  only  to  be  operative?  or,  in 
other  words,  am  I  asking  you  to  admit  too  much  if  I  say  that 
it  is  just  possible  many  other  elementary  combinations  may  exist, 
creating  a  material  state,  absolutely  independent  of  the  ponder- 
able, visible  materiality  that  surrounds  us?  That  such  may  be 
conceived  as  possible,  Mr.  Grove  tells  us  in  his  work,  *  Correlation 
of  Physical  Forces ; '  he  says :  '  Myriads  of  organized  beings 
may  exist  imperceptible  to  our  vision,  even  if  we  were  among 
them,  and  we  might  be  equally  imperceptible  to  them.'  (p.  161). 
These  different  primary  elementary  states  are  conceivable  by 
merely  supposing  primary  elementary  basic  substances  to  exist 
of  a  different  character  to  those  that  constitute  the  elementary 
basis  of  our  materiality.  Physicists,  and  I  quote  from  Professor 
Huxley,  will  tell  you  that  certain  primary  basic  gaseous  sub- 
stances underlie  all  formations ;  that  their  number  may  be  reduced 
to  four.  I  take  their  reasoning  one  step  further,  and  maintain 
that  ultimately  only  two  primary  substances  will  be  found  to  con- 
stitute the  foundation  of  all  materiality — these  two  substances 
constituting  a  dual  state,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  polarity  that 
exists  at  the  base  of  all  creation.  The  manifold  combinations  of 
these  two  primary  basic  elementary  substances  create  the  mate- 
rial, ponderable,  visible  world.  But  matter  is  only  an  exponent 
of  a  force — a  dynamic  action  of  a  permanent  law.  I  am  bor- 
rowing from  Farady,  Tyndall,  Huxley,  for  they  admit  the  ether 


374  Book  of  Knowledge. 

wave  in  their  treatment  of  the  light,  etc.  I  thus  reduce  the  phy- 
sical world  we  live  in,  this  Panstellar  Pancosmic  world  to  the 
dominion,  I  contend,  of  only  two  primary  polaric  forces — conceiv- 
able as  expansion  and  contraction,  central  and  peripheral,  mani- 
fested as  light  and  gravitation,  oxygen  and  carbon.  If  I  dare 
venture  to  enter  upon  the  ground  taken  up  by  Professor  Huxley 
in  dealing  with  primary  gaseous  substances,  the  dualism  repeat- 
ing itself  in  what  is  termed  negative  and  positive,  left  and  right, 
male  and  female,  all  nature  manifests  in  the  never  ceasing  systole 
and  dyastole  the  great  dual  action  of  these  primary  polaric  laws 
that  underlie  the  surface  play  of  the  phenomenal. 

"  These  primary  elementary  substances  correspond  with  other 
elementary  primary  substances,  but  which  belong  to  a  different 
state  of  materiality,  which  has  formed  and  fashioned  the  material 
world  that  pre-exist  and  co-exist  with  the,  to  us,  visible  and  pon- 
derable. But  each  dual  group  of  primary  elementary  forces  is 
so  constituted  that  their  action  encompasses  an  infinitely  ex- 
tended world,  in  all  its  boundless  expanse;  or,  in  other  words, 
series  of  primary  dual  forces,  represented  by  primary  dual  sub- 
stances, co-existing,  intro-existing,  cooperating,  harmonizing  one 
with  the  other,  may  be  conceived  to  exist.  I  have  thus  distinctive 
grades  of  materialities,  bordering  one  on  the  other,  intro-exist- 
ing each  within  each.  And  in  the  never  ceasing  progress  from 
the  primary  dual  source  in  the  divine  essence,  from  grade  to 
grade,  the  vital  power  of  the  soul-being  travels  onwards,  meditat- 
ing in  its  ascent  and  change  of  condition  in  each  elementary 
primary  state  by  what,  in  the  state  we  reside  in,  we  recognize 
as  the  foetal  development  and  final  birth  of  the  child.  The  soul- 
being  of  the  child  pre-exists,  I  maintain,  but  in  a  more  primary 
unconscious  condition;  how  constituted,  and  in  what  form  we 
cannot  with  certainty  tell,  but  this  much  is  certain,  that  each 
vital  power  has  passed  through  earlier  states  of  development,  in 
an  ether  form  previous  to  its  obtaining  its  advanced  condition, 
suitable  to  its  sojourn  on  earth.  Those  lymbic  preparatory  states 
Dr.  Doherty  speaks  of  in  his  *  Organic  Philosophy,'  or  the  verel- 
ment  of  my  father's  theory — the  pre-existences  of  Leibnitz — are 
to  my  mind  the  only  answer  to  the  mystery  of  birth  of  animals 
as  the  after  existences  are  the  only  answer  to  the  ephemeral 
phase  of  life,  the  mystery  of  death. 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    275 

"  The  fact  of  foetal  development  and  birth,  the  growth  of  all 
forms  of  life  from  primary  or  living  germinal  matter,  can.  only 
be  explained  by  a  preparatory  pre-existence.  Professor  Huxley's 
theory,  and  the  school  of  continental  Materialists,  admit  the  in- 
destructibility of  the  material,  but  deny  the  everlasting  presence 
of  the  cause.  Those  primary  centers  of  force  M.  Bascovitz 
rightly  substitutes  for  the  idea  of  a  final  molecule  or  primary  fluid. 
The  next  question  to  consider  is  that  of  the  presence  of  an  ether 
state,  following  this  state,  bordering  upon  it,  and  into  which  we 
pass  after  death. 

"  The  soul-being  pre-develops  its  ether  investiture  during  life, 
mediating  its  progress  by  the  organism  of  our  bodily  existence; 
pre-develops  until  a  second  farther  advanced  central  state  of  our 
soul  becomes  predominant,  and  then  follow  age,  decay  and  final 
dissolution  of  the  body.  Our  soul-being  having  expanded  in 
obedience  to  fixed  laws  of  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  de- 
velopment— for  I  contend  that  the  latter  are  organically  repre- 
sented by  a  higher  organism — ^becomes  surrounded  by  a  suitable 
investiture,  bearing  the  stamp  of  a  higher  or  lower  development, 
in  strict  accordance  with  the  advance  gained;  and  the  presence 
of  a  differently  constituted  physical  state  into  which  the  soul- 
beings  of  men  pass  by  what  we  designate  death,  answers  the 
questions  put  by  Materialists,  what  becomes  of  the  myriads  of 
soul-beings  that  pass  away,  not  only  from  this  planet,  but  from 
the  countless  suns  that  fill  our  cosmic  heavens,  for  their  analogous 
physical  state  justifies  the  conclusion  that  they,  too,  are  inhabited. 
The  presence  of  grades  founded  upon  fundamental  elementary 
and  distinctive  dual  primary  principals — corresponding  with  other 
states  that  precede  and  follow  these,  and  into,  and  from  out  of 
which,  the  soul-being  arises  and  passes  is  the  only  explanation 
to  the  most  marvellous  phenomena  of  birth  and  death.  But 
progress  is  not  only  confined  to  the  human  soul-being ;  all  nature 
progresses — constantly  changes — and  the  only  constant  are  the 
fundamental  laws  that  govern  each  state  of  primary  materiality. 

"  In  the  Lucide,  the  trance  medium,  the  seer,  spiritual  sight 
is  opened;  or,  in  other  words,  the  soul-being,  even  durmg  life, 
becomes  self-conscious  of  the  next  state  upon  which  our  present 
state  borders,  and  the  eyes  see,  and  what  are  termed  our  spiritual 


2^6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

senses  function,  and  we  became  conscious  that  an  actual  reality 
surrounds  us,  independent  of,  and  yet  co-existing  with  the  mate- 
rial physical  conditions  that  govern  this  world. 

"  To  recapitulate.  The  universe  is  not  composed  as  usually 
conceived  of  only  this  pancosmic  boundless  stellar  world,  in  which 
the  megas  and  micros  are,  it  is  true,  equally  marvellous ;  but  this 
boundless,  light  indexed  world  constitutes  only  one  of  the  endless 
grades  and  distinctive  materialities  in  the  plan  of  the  universe. 
Each  plane  or  grade  reducible  to  two  primary  fundamental  laws ; 
the  central  and  peripheral,  expressed  by  two  primary  dual  sub- 
stances, out  of  which  are  created,  in  never  ceasing  change,  those 
ever  varying  forms  that  surround  us.  And  the  soul-being  pass 
from  one  intro-state  to  another  intro-state,  in  obedience  to  laws 
of  their  development,  in  never  ending  progress;  mediating  each 
state  by  an  organism  fit  to  function  in  each  grade.  What  sep- 
arates the  soul-being  from  the  surrounding  material,  or  rather 
what  constitutes  the  connecting  link  between  it  and  the  material, 
must  be  reserved  for  the  discussion  of  some  future  day.  This  eve- 
ning I  have  only  time  to  allude  to  this  question.  I  will  now  con- 
clude what  I  have  to  tell  you ;  the  subject  is  so  vast,  I  have  had  to 
sacrifice  form  for  my  wish  to  render  all  I  could  say  within  a  short 
half-hour's  reading,  and  if  I  erred,  I  am  sure  you  ill  be  indul- 
gent." 

On  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Jencken's  paper,  the  chairman  sug- 
gested the  advisability  of  waiving  all  discussion  thereon,  in  order 
that  the  committee  might  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the 
evidence  of  some  other  distinguished  Spiritualists  who  were  then 
present.  As  this  recommendation  was  found  to  be  in  accordance 
with  the  general  feeling  of  the  Committee  it  was  at  once  adopted. 

Tuesday,  May  25,  1869. 
Mr.  Henry  Jeifery,  Chairman. 

Mr.  Cromwell  F.  Varley  gave  evidence  this  evening  in  the 
following  words: 

"  I  came  here  under  the  impression  that  I  would  be  put  in 
the  witness-box  and  cross-examined;  and  I,  therefore,  did  not 
prepare  any  statement  beforehand.  I  mention  this  in  order  to 
explain  any  want  of  order  or  consecutiveness  in  what  I  state. 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    277 

To  begin,  then,  I  was  a  skeptic  when  these  matters  first  came 
under  my  notice  about  the  year  1850.  That  was  the  time  when 
table-rapping  and  table-moving  were  set  down  as  the  results  of 
electrical  force.  I  investigated  that  hypothesis  and  demonstrated 
that  it  was  altogether  unfounded — no  electrical  force  could  have 
been  thus  applied,  no  electricity  could  be  evolved  from  the  hands 
of  uninsulated  human  beings,  capable  of  moving  one-thousandth 
part  of  the  weight  of  the  tables  moved.  I  may  mention  that 
I  was  possessed  of  mesmeric  healing  power.  Three  years  after 
these  experiments  I  came  to  London  and  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  lady  who  has  since  become  Mrs.  Varley.  She  was  subject 
to  nervous  headaches,  and  I  got  the  consent  of  her  parents  to 
mesmerize  her  with  the  view  of  effecting  a  cure.  She  was  only 
temporarily  relieved;  and  one  day,  while  she  was  entranced  on 
the  couch,  I  was  thinking  whether  I  could  permanently  cure  her. 
She  answered  my  thought.  I  considered  this  very  strange  and 
I  asked  her — still  mentally — whether  she  was  answering  my 
thought ;  she  replied,  *  Yes.*  I  then  asked  her  whether  there 
were  any  means  by  which  a  permanent  cure  could  be  effected. 
She  replied,  *  Yes ;  if  you  bring  the  fit  out  of  its  proper  course 
you  will  disturb  its  harmony  and  I  shall  be  cured.'  I  did  so — ^by 
the  exercise  of  will — and  by  bringing  on  the  fits  at  intermediate 
periods  she  was  cured  permanently.  Whenever  entranced  she 
had  a  strong  objection  to  being  roused  out  of  that  state. 

"  To  ascertain  whether  the  influence  could  be  exerted  through 
solid  substances  I  made  transverse  passes  through  folding  doors ; 
she  ran  out  and  caught  my  hands  to  stop  me.  Another  time  I 
made  passes  through  a  brick  wall;  she  was  instantly  conscious 
of  it.  I  relate  these  matters  because  they  may  help  us  to  a  clue 
in  relation  to  some  of  the  phenomena  called  spiritual.  A  wall, 
it  will  be  seen,  was  transparent  to  what  passed  from  my  hand  or 
mind.  Some  three  or  four  years  after  a  chest  disease  of  my 
wife's  became  much  aggravated;  she  became  very  thin  and  was 
supposed  to  be  suffering  from  consumption.  She  could  not  in- 
spire more  than  seven-eighths  of  a  pint  of  air  and  it  was  stated 
that  she  would  not  live  more  than  three  months. 

"  One  night  she  addressed  me  in  the  third  person,  and  said, 
*  If  you  are  not  careful  you  will  lose  her/    I  asked  who  ?    She 


278  Book  of  Knowledge. 

replied,  '  Her,  your  wife ! '  I  said,  '  Who  is  now  speaking  ?  '  The 
reply  was,  in  substance,  *  We  are  spirits ;  not  one,  but  several. 
We  can  cure  her  if  you  will  observe  what  we  tell  you.  Three 
ulcers  will  form  on  the  chest.  The  first  will  break  in  ten  days 
at  thirty-six  minutes  past  five  o'clock.  It  will  be  necessary  that 
you  shall  have  such  and  such  remedies  at  hand.  No  one  is  to 
be  with  you;  their  presence  will  excite  her  too  much,  and  you 
must  not  inform  her  of  these  communications,  for  the  shock 
would  kill  her.'  On  the  tenth  day  I  went  home  early.  I  had 
set  my  watch  by  Greenwich  time.  Exactly  at  5  136  she  screamed ; 
that  happened  which  had  been  predicted  and  she  was  relieved. 
The  second  crisis  was  foretold  three  weeks  and  the  third  a  fort- 
night before  it  actually  occurred.  The  latter  was  predicted  for 
the  day  of  the  annular  eclipse,  which  was  visible  from  Peters- 
borough.  I  had  promised  to  take  her  to  Petersborough,  but  I 
found  that  the  ulcer  was  to  break  at  a  time  when  she  would  be 
in  the  train.  The  spirits,  however,  said  that  it  would  not  do  to 
disappoint  her,  and  she  went,  I  taking  the  remedies  in  my  pocket. 
Half  an  hour  before  the  appointed  time  she  became  ill  and  pre- 
cisely at  the  hour  named  the  ulcer  broke.  I  produced  the  rem- 
edies, much  to  her  surprise,  for  she  knew  nothing  of  the  predic- 
tion. These  were  my  first  spiritual  experiences.  It  was  not  my 
wife  but  the  spirits  who  told  me  what  to  do  and  by  acting  on 
their  instructions  she  was  so  restored  that  in  nine  months  her 
inspiration  was  increased  from  a  pint  to  nearly  a  gallon  and  she 
became  quite  stout.  Later,  after  the  birth  of  my  first  son,  I  was 
aroused  one  night  by  three  tremendous  raps.  I  thought  there 
were  thieves  in  the  house  and  I  searched  everywhere  but  found 
nothing.  I  then  thought,  *  Can  this  be  what  is  called  Spiritual- 
ism ? '  The  raps  answered  '  Yes,  go  into  the  next  room ! '  I  did 
so  and  found  the  nurse  intoxicated  and  Mrs.  Varley  rigid,  cata- 
leptic. I  made  cross  passes  and  restored  her.  These  things 
made  me  very  anxious  and  I  resolved  to  see  if  there  was  any 
truth  in  what  was  related  of  Mr.  Home.  I  called  upon  him  and 
told  him  what  I  had  experienced.  He  made  an  appointment  and 
I  went  to  him  with  Mrs.  Varley ;  Mrs.  Milner  Gibson  said  that  her 
son,  who  was  dead,  was  there.  He  gave  raps.  She  wore  a 
white  stomacher,  I  think  it  is  called,  and  it  suddenly  became  in- 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    279 

flated  by,  as  she  said,  her  spirit  child.  The  child  was  asked  to 
touch  me;  he  said  he  was  afraid,  but  later  in  the  evening  he  said 
that  he  was  no  longer  afraid,  and  my  hands  were  touched  under 
the  table  and  my  coat  was  pulled  three  times.  I  said  to  myself, 
*  This  is  not  satisfactory,  for  it  is  all  under  the  table.'  Imme- 
diately afterwards,  in  answer  to  a  mental  wish,  the  lapel  of  my 
coat  was  lifted  three  times  on  the  right  side  and  then  three  times 
on  the  left.  I  was  then,  in  answer  to  a  mental  wish,  touched  oit 
the  knee  and  on  the  shoulder  quite  distinctly  the  desired  number 
of  times." 

A  Member  of  the  Committee :  "  Was  this  in  the  light  ?  " 

Mr.  Varley :  "  Yes,  in  the  light  of  five  gas-burners.  Mrs. 
Milner  Gibson  and  Mr.  Home  requested  me  to  make  a  thorough 
investigation  and  to  get  under  the  table  and  apply  any  test.  In 
the  course  of  the  evening  very  many  phenomena  presented  them- 
selves ;  the  table  was  repeatedly  lifted  off  the  floor,  and  while  so 
suspended  in  the  air,  it  instantly  moved  in  any  direction  I  wished 
it  to  go. 

"  Mrs.  Varley  made  similar  experiments,  and  when  I  was 
observing  under  the  table  she  observed  above. 

"  These  were  the  first  physical  phenomena  I  saw,  and  they 
impressed  me,  but  still  I  was  too  much  astonished  to  be  able  to 
feel  satisfied.  Fortunately,  when  I  got  home,  a  circumstance 
occurred  which  got  rid  of  the  element  of  doubt.  While  alone  in 
the  drawing  room,  thinking  intently  on  what  I  had  witnessed, 
there  were  raps.  The  next  morning  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Home,  in  which  he  said,  *  When  alone  in  your  room  last  night 
you  heard  sounds.  I  am  so  pleased ! '  He  stated  that  the 
spirits  had  told  him  they  followed  me  and  were  enabled  to  pro- 
duce sounds.  I  have  the  letter  in  my  possession  now  to  show 
that  imagination  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  The  eye  is 
treacherous  and  may  deceive;  therefore  the  testimony  of  a 
single  individual  is  never  conclusive.  It  is  only  when  there  is 
corroborative  evidence  that  we  can  be  safe.  The  fact  that  I 
heard  the  raps  was  confirmed  by  the  letter  of  Home.  I  shall  con- 
fine my  instances  to  cases  in  which  there  was  corroborative  evi- 
dence. 

"  In  the  winter  of  1864-5  I  was  busy  with  the  Atlantic  cable. 


aSo  Book  of  Knowledge. 

I  left  a  gentleman  at  Birmingham  to  test  the  iron  wire.  He  had 
seen  something  of  Spiritualism  but  he  did  not  believe  in  it.  He 
had  had  a  brother  whom  I  had  never  seen  in  life.  One  night 
in  my  room  there  were  a  great  number  of  loud  raps.  When  at 
length  I  sat  up  in  bed  I  saw  a  man  in  the  air — a  spirit — in  mili- 
tary dress.  I  could  see  the  pattern  of  the  paper  on  the  wall 
through  him.  Mrs.  Varley  did  not  see  it.  She  was  in  a  peculiar 
state  and  became  entranced.  The  spirit  spoke  to  me  through 
her." 

A  gentleman  asked  how  that  was  supposed  to  be  done? 

Mr.  Varley :  "  While  the  person  is  in  a  trance  the  spirit  con- 
trols the  body  and  speaks  and  acts  through  the  muscles  and 
organs.  He  told  me  his  name,  and  said  that  he  had  seen  his 
brother  in  Birmingham,  but  what  he  had  to  communicate  was 
not  understood.  He  asked  me  to  write  a  message  to  his  brother, 
which  I  did,  and  received  an  answer  from  Birmingham,  *  Yes, 
I  know  my  brother  has  seen  you  for  he  came  to  me  and  was  able 
to  make  known  as  much.'  The  gentleman,  as  I  said,  was  at  Bir- 
mingham and  I  was  at  Beskenham. 

"  This  spirit  informed  me  that  when  at  school  in  France  he 
was  stabbed.  The  fact  was  only  known  to  his  eldest  surviving 
brother  and  his  mother.  It  had  been  concealed  from  his  father 
on  account  of  the  state  of  the  latter 's  health. 

"  When  I  narrated  this  to  the  survivor  he  turned  very  pale  and 
confirmed  it. 

"  In  a  second  case  my  sister-in-law  had  heart  disease.  Mrs. 
Varley  and  I  went  into  the  country  to  see  her,  as  we  feared  for 
the  last  time.  I  had  a  nightmare,  and  could  not  move  a  muscle. 
While  in  this  state,  I  saw  the  spirit  of  my  sister-in-law  in  the 
room.  I  knew  that  she  was  confined  to  her  bedroom.  She 
said,  '  If  you  do  not  move,  you  will  die,'  but  I  could  not  move, 
and  she  said,  *  If  you  submit  yourself  to  me,  I  will  frighten  you, 
and  you  will  then  be  able  to  move.'  At  first  I  objected,  wishing 
to  ascertain  more  about  her  spirit  presence.  When  at  last  I 
consented,  my  heart  had  ceased  beating.  I  think  at  first  her 
efforts  to  terrify  me  did  not  succeed,  but  when  she  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, '  Oh,  Cromwell,  I  am  dying,'  that  frightened  me  ex- 
ceedingly, and  threw  me  out  of  the  torpid  state,  and  I  awoke  in 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    281 

the  ordinary  way.  My  shouting  had  aroused  Mrs.  Varley;  we 
examined  tlie  door,  and  it  was  still  locked  and  bolted,  and  I  told 
my  wife  what  had  happened,  having  noted  the  hour,  3:45  a.m., 
and  cautioned  her  not  mention  the  matter  to  anybody,  but  to 
hear  what  was  her  sister's  version  if  she  alluded  to  the  subject. 
In  the  morning  she  told  us  that  she  had  passed  a  dreadful  night, 
that  she  had  been  in  our  room  and  greatly  troubled  on  my  ac- 
count; and  that  I  had  been  nearly  dying.  It  was  between  half- 
past  three  and  four  a.m.,  when  she  saw  I  was  in  danger.  She 
only  succeeded  in  arousing  me  by  exclaiming,  *  Oh.  Cromwell, 
I  am  dying.'  I  appeared  to  her  to  be  in  a  state  which  otherwise 
would  have  ended  fatally.  This  was  the  second  case  in  which 
there  were  more  witnesses  than  one,  and  I  think  it  may  be  con- 
sidered a  second  case  attended  with  reliable  evidence.  There  is 
in  addition  this  peculiarity  that  we  were  neither  of  us  dead. 

"  A  third  case  I  have,  which  is  remarkable ;  it  occurred  in  1867, 
in  New  York.  I  had  an  agreement  with  the  Atlantic  Telegraph 
Company  relating  to  an  instrument  of  my  invention  and  as  the 
time  came  for  some  payments  to  fall  due,  the  arrangement  was 
repudiated.  I  was  in  ignorance,  however,  of  this  determination. 
I  happened  to  be  unwell,  and  consulted  three  mediums  to  see 
whether  they  would  agree.  They  did  in  the  main.  One  was  a 
Mrs.  Manchester.  Amongst  other  things,  she  informed  me  that 
I  was  to  have  some  trouble  about  law  proceedings,  and  in  fact, 
she  said  there  were  papers  of  importance  relative  to  the  matter 
then  on  their  way  by  the  mail.  This  was  on  Monday,  and  the 
following  Wednesday  the  mail  arrived  and  I  received  a  packet 
of  law  papers  and  an  explanatory  letter  from  my  lawyers,  stating 
that  they  would  proceed  to  file  a  bill  in  Chancery  in  consequence 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  company,  unless  I  sent  other  instruc- 
tions through  the  cable.  It  was  impossible  for  Mrs.  Manchester 
to  have  known  anything  about  this,  and  for  my  part,  nothing  was 
farther  from  my  thoughts  than  a  Chancery  suit.  I  was  an  entire 
stranger  to  these  three  mediums,  and  at  that  time  knew  no  Spir- 
itualists in  America. 

"  I  have  a  fourth  case  in  which  I  was  the  principal  performer. 
I  had  been  experimenting  with  earthenware  and  was  attacked 
with  spasms  in  the  throat  from  the  fumes  of  the  fluoric  acid, 


282  Book  of  Knowledge. 

which  I  had  been  using  largely.  I  was  very  ill  indeed,  and  used 
to  wake  up  with  contraction  of  the  throat  and  I  was  recommended 
to  have  some  sulphuric  ether  beside  me  to  breathe  which  would 
procure  instant  relief.  I  used  this  six  or  eight  times  but  its  smell 
was  so  unpleasant  that  I  eventually  used  chloroform;  I  kept  it 
by  my  bedside,  and  when  I  had  to  take  it,  leaned  over  it  in  such 
a  manner  that  when  insensibility  supervened,  I  fell  back  and  the 
sponge  dropped  down.  One  night,  however,  I  rolled  on  my  back 
retaining  the  sponge,  which  remained  on  my  mouth.  Mrs.  Varley 
was  in  the  room  above,  nursing  a  sick  child.  After  a  little  time 
I  became  unconscious ;  I  saw  my  wife  upstairs,  and  I  saw  myself 
on  my  back  with  the  sponge  to  my  mouth,  but  was  utterly  pow- 
erless to  cause  my  body  to  move.  I  made  by  my  will  a  distinct 
impression  on  her  brain  that  I  was  in  danger.  Thus  aroused,  she 
came  down  and  immediately  removed  the  sponge,  and  was  greatly 
alarmed.  I  then  used  my  body  to  speak  to  her,  and  I  said,  '  I 
shall  forget  all  about  it  and  how  this  came  to  pass  unless  you 
remind  me  in  the  morning,  but  be  sure  to  tell  me  what  made  you 
come  down  and  I  shall  then  be  able  to  recall  the  circumstance.' 
The  following  morning  she  did  so  but  I  could  not  remember 
anything  about  it;  I  tried  hard  all  day,  however,  and  at  length  I 
succeeded  in  remembering  first  a  part  and  ultimately  the  whole. 
My  spirit  was  in  the  room  with  Mrs.  Varley  when  I  made  her  con- 
scious of  my  danger.  That  case  helped  me  to  understand  how 
spirits  communicate :  what  my  spirit  wished  she  saw,  and  Mrs. 
Varley  has  had  similar  experiences.  On  one  occasion  she  told 
me  whilst  in  a  trance,  *  It  is  not  the  spirits  that  now  speak,  it  is 
myself ;  I  make  use  of  my  body  the  same  as  spirits  do  when  they 
speak  through  me.' 

"I  had  another  case  in  i860;  I  went  to  find  the  first  At- 
lantic cable ;  when  I  arrived  at  Halifax  my  name  was  telegraphed 
to  New  York.  Mr.  Cyrus  Field  telegraphed  the  fact  to  St.  John's 
and  then  to  Harbour  Grace;  so  that  when  I  arrived  I  was  very 
cordially  received  at  each  place  and  at  Harbour  Grace  found 
there  a  supper  prepared.  Some  speeches  followed  and  we  sat 
up  late.  1  had  to  catch  the  steamer  that  went  early  the  next 
morning  and  was  fearful  of  not  waking  in  time,  but  I  employed 
a  plan  which  had  often  proved  successful  before,  viz.,  that  of 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    283 

willing  strongly  that  I  should  wake  at  the  proper  time.  Morn- 
ing came  and  I  saw  myself  in  bed  fast  asleep;  I  tried  to  wake 
myself  but  could  not.  After  a  while  I  found  myself  hunting 
about  for  some  means  of  more  power,  when  I  saw  a  yard  in  which 
was  a  large  stack  of  timber  and  two  men  approaching;  they  as- 
cended the  stack  of  timber  and  lifted  a  heavy  plank.  It  occurred 
to  me  to  make  my  body  dream  that  there  was  a  bombshell  thrown 
in  front  of  me  which  was  fizzling  at  the  touch-hole,  and  when 
the  men  threw  the  plank  down  I  made  my  body  dream  that 
the  bomb  had  burst  and  cut  open  my  face.  It  woke  me,  but  with 
a  clear  recollection  of  the  two  actions — one,  the  intelligent  mind 
acting  upon  the  brain  in  the  body,  which  could  be  made  to  be- 
lieve any  ridiculous  impression  that  the  former  produced  by 
will  power,  I  did  not  allow  a  second  to  elapse  before  I  leaped  out 
of  bed,  opened  the  window,  and  there  were  the  yard,  the  timber, 
and  the  two  men,  just  as  my  spirit  had  seen  them.  I  had  no 
previous  knowledge  at  all  of  the  locality;  it  was  dark  the  pre- 
vious evening  when  I  entered  the  town,  and  I  did  not  even  know 
there  was  a  yard  there  at  all.  It  was  evident  I  had  seen  these 
things  while  my  body  lay  asleep.  I  could  not  see  the  timber 
until  the  window  had  been  opened.  These  are  the  leading  points 
I  have  to  confirm  my  belief  in  Spiritualism.  I  have  received 
communications  about  my  children.  My  youngest  child,  who 
was  very  nervous  and  precocious,  was  taken  ill,  and  the  doctor 
advised  us  to  give  him  no  meat,  but  he  did  not  get  any  better. 
Shortly  after  Mrs.  Varley  was  entranced,  and  a  spirit  instructed 
us  not  to  alter  the  child's  original  diet,  to  discontinue  the  treat- 
ment adopted  towards  him,  and  to  send  for  a  mesmerist.  This 
was  done,  and  the  child  quickly  recovered  under  his  passes.  I 
myself  once  had  an  operation  performed  on  a  boil  in  my  face, 
and  I  suffered  some  weeks  afterwards  from  neuralgia.  One 
night  I  was  informed  that  the  spirits  were  going  to  put  me  to 
rest,  and  that  they  were  now  beginning ;  as  I  lay  in  bed  I  suddenly 
became  very  hot  and  burst  out  into  a  perspiration  and  enjoyed  a 
good  night's  rest.  It  was  about  15  seconds  after  it  had  been 
said  *  they  are  now  beginning '  that  I  burst  out  into  a  glow. 
The  neuralgia  was  gone  when  I  awoke  next  morning. 

"  At  New  York  I  found  several  excellent  mediums  and  also 


284  Book  of  Knowledge, 

some  very  clear-headed  men  who  were  investigating  the  subject, 
Dr.  Grey,  Mr.  F.  C.  Livermore,  the  banker;  Dale  Owen,  the 
author  of  '  Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,'  and 
others,  including  Judge  Edmunds. 

"  From  these  people  I  obtained  valuable  information  and  com- 
menced a  series  of  experiments  with  electricity  and  magnetism. 
The  medium  was  Miss  Catherine  Fox. 

"  It  is  now  more  than  twelve  years  since  I  first  became  ac- 
quainted with  spiritual  phenomena  and  for  a  long  time  I  endeav- 
ored to  ascertain  something  definite  about  the  laws  governing 
the  production  of  physical  manifestations,  but  up  to  this  time  my 
evidence  is  almost  entirely  negative.  In  the  absence  of  positive 
evidence  negative  is  useful  in  limiting  the  ground  over  which 
one  has  to  search,  in  a  measure,  in  the  dark. 

"  The  spirit  who  was  to  cooperate  with  me  was  stated  to  be 
Dr.  Franklin. 

"  When  I  appeared  the  first  time  with  the  apparatus  at  the 
minute  appointed,  I  was  received  with  a  chorus  of  raps  such  as 
fifty  hammers,  all  striking  rapidly,  could  hardly  produce. 

"  I  have  scarcely  ever  been  able  to  induce  mediums,  through 
whom  the  physical  phenomena  occur,  to  consent  to  sit  for  ac- 
curate investigation.  In  1867,  Miss  Kate  Fox,  the  well-known 
American  medium,  agreed  to  sit  with  me  in  New  York  during 
a  series  of  investigations  into  the  relations  between  the  known 
physical  forces  and  the  spiritual.  Miss  Fox,  you  are  doubtless 
aware,  is  the  medium  through  whom  the  modern  spiritual  mani- 
festations were  first  produced  in  the  United  States,  and  through 
her  mediumship  the  most  striking  physical  phenomena  I  have 
ever  heard  of  were  witnessed  by  my  friends  Dr.  Grey,  a  leading 
physician  in  New  York,  and  by  Mr.  C.  F.  Livermore,  the  banker, 
both  of  them  shrewd,  clear-headed  men. 

*■  During  my  investigations,  Mr.  Livermore  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Townsend  sat  with  us ;  Mr.  Townsend  is  a  New  York  solicitor, 
at  whose  house  the  meetings  of  the  circle  were  held.  A  Grove's 
battery  of  four  cells,  a  helix  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  electro- 
magnets, and  other  descriptions  of  apparatus  were  procured  by 
me.  The  plan  of  action  was  as  follows:  I  was  to  go  through  a 
series  of  experiments,  and  the  intelligences  or  '  spirits,'  as  they 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    285 

are  usually,  and  I  think  properly  called,  were  to  narrate  what 
they  saw,  and  if  possible  to  explain  the  analogies  existing  be- 
tween the  forces  I  was  dealing  with  and  those  which  they  em- 
ploy. We  sat  eight  or  nine  times  for  this  purpose,  but  although 
great  efforts  seemed  to  be  made  by  the  spirits  present  to  convey 
to  my  mind  what  they  saw,  it  was  unintelligible  to  me.  The 
only  positive  results  obtained  were  the  following:  As  we  sat  in 
the  dark,  and  the  manifestations  were  sometimes  violent,  I  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  place  the  battery  and  keys  on  a  side  table 
and  led  the  wires  from  the  '  keys '  or  commutators,  to  the  ap- 
paratus on  the  tables  round  which  we  sat,  so  that  I  could,  in  the 
dark,  perform  the  various  experiments  I  had  arranged  to  try. 
Whenever,  by  accident,  my  hands  came  in  contact  with  one  of 
the  wires,  without  my  being  aware  which  wire  it  was,  I  put 
these  questions :  '  Is  a  current  flowing  through  it  ? '  and  if  they 
said  '  Yes,'  I  asked  in  what  direction  does  it  flow  through  my 
hand?  This  experiment  was  repeated,  if  my  memory  serves  me 
rightly,  not  less  than  ten  times.  Each  time,  directly  after  being 
informed  of  the  direction  of  the  current,  a  light  was  struck,  and 
in  every  instance  I  found  that  we  had  been  correctly  advised, 
if  we  assume  that  the  current  flows  from  the  positive  to  the  nega- 
tive pole. 

"  The  experiments  with  the  helix  were  of  two  kinds :  First, 
*  What  action  had  the  electrified  helix  upon  me  when  placed  Over 
my  head  ?  Secondly,  *  When  a  piece  of  iron,  or  a  compass 
needle,  was  placed  inside  it,  could  the  spirits  affect  the  magnetic 
action  of  the  helix  upon  the  iron  or  compass  ?  '  Repeatedly  dur- 
ing the  investigations,  and  while  we  were  in  the  dark,  I  seized 
the  opportunity  of  placing  the  magnetized  helix  over  my  head, 
and  immediately,  on  each  occasion,  the  spirits  requested  me  not 
to  do  it  as  it  hurt  me ;  nevertheless,  I  could  feel  no  pain  or  sensi- 
ble action  myself.  As  no  one  but  myself  was  aware  that  I  in- 
tended to  or  was  placing  this  helix  over  my  head,  it  is  perfectly 
clear  that  the  fact  was  made  known  by  some  means  inexplicable 
as  yet  by  orthodox  science. 

"  The  result  of  my  investigations  in  this  direction  lead  me  to 
infer  that  there  are  probably  other  powers  accompanying  electric 
and  magnetic  streams,  which  other  powers  are  seen  by  the  spirits 


a86  Book  of  Knowledge, 

and  are  by  them  mistaken  for  the  forces  which  we  call  electricity 
and  magnetism.  This  is  an  hypothesis  not  easily  arrived  at. 
Whenever  a  current  flowed  through  the  helix  the  spirits  declared 
that  they  did  augment  and  diminish  the  power  of  the  magnetic 
field  at  will.  My  apparatus  showed  no  such  variation  of  power. 
They  persisted  in  the  correctness  of  their  statement  night  after 
night,  and  time  after  time.  I  insisted  on  the  contrary  that  no 
action  visible  to  me  was  produced.  One  evening,  when  carefully 
repeating  the  experiments  (my  apparatus  was  not  very  sensitive) 
the  idea  occurred  to  me  to  replace  the  little  compass  needle  with 
a  quartz  crystal.  The  spirits  described  the  crystal  as  a  fine 
magnet,  and  declared  that  they  altered  its  magnetism  at  will. 

"  Mrs.  Varley  can  often  see  similar  light  issuing  alike  from 
steel  magnets,  rock  crystals,  and  human  beings,  though  in  the 
latter  case  the  luminosity  varies  in  intensity.  Putting  all  these 
things  together,  I  think  the  spirits  see  around  magnets  this  light 
(which  Baron  Reichenbach  has  named  Od  force),  and  not  the 
magnetic  rays  themselves. 

"  About  the  existence  of  the  *  flames  of  Od '  from  magnets, 
crystals,  and  human  beings,  I  have  had  abundant  and  conclusive 
evidence  from  experiments  with  Mrs.  Varley. 

"  I  have  used  the  word  *  spirits,'  well  knowing  that  the  world 
at  large  does  not  believe  that  we  have  any  warranty  for  assuming 
that  our  friends  are  able  to  communicate  with  us,  after  the  dis- 
solution of  the  material  body.  My  authority  for  asserting  that 
the  spirits  of  kindred  beings  do  visit  us  is:  i.  I  have  on  several 
occasions  distinctly  seen  them.  2.  On  several  occasions  things 
known  only  to  myself  and  to  the  deceased  person  purporting 
to  communicate  with  me,  have  been  correctly  stated  while  the 
medium  was  unaware  of  any  of  the  circumstances.  3.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  things  known  only  to  our  two  selves,  and  which 
I  had  entirely  forgotten,  have  been  recalled  to  my  mind  by  the 
communicating  spirit,  therefore  this  could  not  be  a  case  of  mere 
thought-reading.  4.  On  some  occasions,  when  these  communica- 
tions have  been  made  to  me,  I  have  put  my  questions  mentally, 
while  the  medium — a  private  lady  in  independent  circumstances — 
has  written  out  the  answers,  she  being  quite  unconscious  of  the 
meaning  of  the  communications.     5.  The  time  and  nature  of 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    287 

coming  events,  unanticipated  and  unknown  both  to  myself  and 
the  medium,  have,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  been  accurately 
made  known  to  me  several  days  in  advance.  As  my  invisible 
informants  told  the  truth  regarding  the  coming  events  and  also 
stated  that  they  were  spirits,  and  as  no  mortals  in  the  room  had 
any  knowledge  of  some  of  the  facts  they  communicated,  I  see  no 
reason  to  disbelieve  them.  Mrs.  Varley  very  frequently  sees 
and  recognizes  spirits;  especially  is  this  the  case  when  she  is 
entranced.  She  is  a  very  good  trance  medium,  but  I  have  little 
power  over  the  occurrence  of  these  trances ;  there  is  consequently 
nearly  as  much  difficulty  in  investigating  through  her  mediumship 
as  there  is  in  investigating  that  extraordinary,  unexplained 
natural  phenomenon — ball-lightning — which  occurs  in  times  and 
places  unexpected  and  beyond  human  control. 

"  My  early  religious  education  was  received  from  that  very 
narrow-minded  sect,  the  Sandimanians ;  their  teachings  wholly 
failed  to  satisfy  my  anxiety  about  the  future.  It  was  while 
endeavoring  to  get  some  information  regarding  the  relations 
between  man  and  the  Deity,  from  some  spirits  who  were  evidently 
more  advanced  than  myself,  that  I  received,  unexpectedly,  a 
communication  upon  another  subject  which  had  puzzled  me  much, 
namely,  '  Why  have  not  the  more  intelligent  spirits  given  us 
some  scientific  information  in  advance  of  any  yet  possessed  by 
man  ? '  As  I  think  the  explanation  to  be  sound  and  logical  I 
mention  it  here  not  asking  you  to  accept  it  but  to  prepare  you 
when  the  same  question  occurs  to  your  own  mind. 

"  They  told  me  that  I  myself  had  often  experienced  how  im- 
perfect words  were  as  a  means  of  communicating  new  ideas ;  that 
spirits  in  advance  of  the  great  intelligences  upon  earth  do  not 
use  words  in  communicating  with  each  other,  because  they  have 
the  power  of  instantly  communicating  the  actual  idea  as  it  exists 
in  their  own  thought,  to  the  other  spirit ;  that  when  they  telegraph 
to  mortals,  even  through  clairvoyant  and  trance  mediums,  who 
form  by  far  the  best  channel  for  messages  of  high  intelligence, 
they  put  the  thought  into  the  mind  of  the  medium,  for  that  mind 
to  translate  into  words,  through  the  mechanism  of  the  brain  and 
mouth ;  consequently,  what  we  usually  get  is  a  bad  interpretation 
of  a  subject  which  the  translator  does  not  comprehend. 


288  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  The  physical  manifestations,  wonderful  and  useful  though 
they  be,  are  generally  believed  by  experienced  Spiritualists  to 
be  chiefly  produced  by  spirits  of  a  less  advanced  nature  than  the 
average  men  of  civilized  countries;  of  the  general  truth  of  this 
I  entertain  no  doubt. 

"  I  have  failed  at  present  to  find  a  medium  acquainted  v^ith 
science,  and  therefore  capable  of  translating  into  intelligible 
langtiage  ideas  of  a  scientific  nature.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at,  when  we  remember  that  there  are  thirty  millions  of  British 
subjects,  while  there  are  probably  not  more  than  a  hundred 
known  mediums  in  the  whole  kingdom,  and  very  few  of  these  are 
well  developed;  this  gives  us  one  publicly  known  medium  to 
every  300,000  persons.  Out  of  the  thirty  millions  I  do  not  sup- 
pose there  are  as  many  as  one  thousand  well  acquainted  with  nat- 
ural philosophy,  and  accustomed  to  reason  thereon.  If,  then,  but 
one  in  thirty  thousand  is  a  scientific  investigator,  while  there  is 
one  medium  to  300,000  persons,  we  can  only  expect  one  scientific 
medium  for  each  ten  generations.  Even  if  we  assumed  that  there 
are  10,000  clear-headed  natural  philosophers  in  Great  Britain, 
that  would  still  only  give  us  one  good  scientific  medium  to  a 
generation.  When  it  is  further  considered  that  the  majority  of 
our  mediums  are  females,  who,  from  the  miseducation  of  English 
ladies,  are  rarely  accustomed  to  accurate  investigation,  it  is  still 
less  to  be  wondered  at  that  so  little  advance  has  been  made  in  the 
scientific  branch  of  the  subject. 

"  I  have  now  told  you  about  as  much  as  I  am  able ;  what  I 
have  stated  is  the  truth,  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 
It  is  a  very  difficult  subject.  One  has  almost  no  clew  to  the  nature 
of  any  of  these  forces.  What  we  want  is  a  systematic  combined 
effort  to  investigate  the  matter.  I  think  there  is  only  a  small 
minority  suitably  educated  to  investigate  such  subjects.  I  have 
been  most  careful  to  believe  nothing  until  unbelief  became  im- 
possible." 

On  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Varley's  speech  the  Chairman,  Mr. 
Jeif ery,  rose  to  thank  him  for  his  valuable  statement. 

Mr.  Coleman  said  that  he  would  like  to  know  whether  Mr. 
Varley  considered  himself  a  spirit  rapper? 

Mr.  Varley  did  not  consider  himself  a  spirit  rapper;  he  could 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    289 

not  produce  raps  and  did  not  know  the  real  meaning  of  the  term 
as  used  by  Mr.  Coleman. 

Mr.  Jeffery :  "  Does  Mr.  Varley  accept  the  spiritual  theory  ?  " 

Mr.  Varley :  "  I  firmly  believe  from  the  facts  I  have  alluded 
to,  that  we  are  not  our  bodies ;  that  when  we  die  we  exist  just  as 
much  as  before  and  that  under  certain  conditions  we  are  able  to 
hold  communication  with  those  on  earth;  but  I  also  believe  that 
many  of  the  phenomena  are  caused  by  the  spirits  of  those  whose 
bodies  are  present.  The  phenomena  can  neither  be  accounted  for 
by  magnetism  nor  electricity.  These  forces  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  phenomena  I  have  alluded  to.  It  is  unfortunate  that 
the  terms  electricity  and  magnetism  should  have  been  applied 
to  these  unknown  forces.  As  to  our  future  existence  I  do  not 
think  any  of  us  know  much  about  its  details  after  deaths  nearly 
all  Spiritualists  concur  in  believing,  that  the  thinking  part  of 
man  forms  in  the  next  life  the  body ;  that  we  are  thought  beings, 
and  that  those  ideas  which  we  originate  in  this  life  are  permanent 
realities  in  the  next.  With  regard  to  electricity,  I  believe  that 
electricity  is  one  of  the  components  of  matter,  and  that  there  is 
an  actual  transmission  through  the  wire.  It  has  no  applicable 
weight,  no  gravitation.  Light  is  the  vibration  of  cosmical  ether. 
As  to  the  nature  of  magnetism  I  do  not  know  what  it  is ;  I  haven't 
the  ghost  of  an  idea. 

"  I  remember  a  case  a  short  time  since  at  my  own  house, 
when  a  large  ottoman  pushed  us  all  up  into  a  corner  without  any 
visible  means  of  locomotion.  Mr.  Home  was  the  medium,  and 
while  we  were  sitting  round  a  table  Mr.  Home  began  to  shiver. 
I  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  there  was  a  side  table  coming 
slowly  up  towards  us.  At  another  time,  at  New  York,  a  party  of 
friends  had  been  sitting  at  a  table  for  some  time  when  suddenly 
Miss  Catherine  Fox  got  up  and  went  towards  the  door.  Mr. 
Livermore  went  and  stood  by  her  and  distinctly  saw  a  hand, 
and  we  all  saw  a. blue  light  come  from  under  her  dress.  I  have 
often  seen  these  lights  in  her  presence." 

Mr.  Bradlaugh :  "  While  the  most  interesting  part  of  your 
experience  took  place  were  you  in  an  abnormal  state } " 

Mr.  Varley :  "  No,  calm  and  clear.  I  believe  the  mesmeric 
trance  and  the  spiritual  trance  are  produced  by  similar  means, 


290  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  I  believe  the  mesmeric  and  the  spiritual  force  to  be  the  same. 
They  are  both  the  action  of  a  spirit  and  the  difference  between 
the  spiritual  trance  and  the  mesmeric  trance  is,  I  believe,  this: 
In  the  mesmeric  trance  the  will  that  overpowers  or  entrances  the 
patient  is  in  a  human  body.  In  the  spiritual  trance  that  will 
which  overpowers  the  patient  is  not  in  a  human  body.  I  have 
given  much  time  to  the  question  of  the  identification  of  spirits  and 
in  one  case,  a  medium,  a  lady  in  our  own  locality  (whom  we  had 
never  previously  known),  sent  to  say  that  a  spirit  wished  to  com- 
municate, through  me,  to  his  father  and  desired  that  I  should 
go  to  his  father,  who  was  a  Materialist.  This  spirit  was  most 
anxious  that  his  father  should  know  that  he  was  not  annihilated — 
that  there  was  a  future  life.  I  had  known  this  person  while  in 
the  body,  and  he  was  a  very  genial  fellow,  but  so  very  untruthful 
that  no  dependence  could  be  placed  on  what  he  said.  I  therefore 
told  him  that  in  life  he  was  such  a  liar  that  he  must  now  con- 
vince me  that  he  was  the  same  person  by  relating  some  incidents 
of  our  lives  which  I  had  forgotten.  He  could  not  think  of  any 
at  the  time  and  I  made  an  appointment  to  meet  him  in  a  few  days. 
He  afterwards  narrated  to  me  the  incidents  of  a  boating  excur- 
sion we  had  on  the  Thames,  repeating  various  expressions  I 
had  used,  and  detailing  the  circumstances  attending  them.  He 
added  that  he  was  so  bad  on  earth  that  he  had  not  the  confidence 
of  his  father  and  that  he  could  not  convince  him  of  his  identity 
as  he  had  me.  Most  of  the  answers  were  written  by  the  lady 
before  alluded  to,  my  question  being  put  mentally." 

Mr.  Bradlaugh :  "  I  think  you  have  seen  the  color  of  the  clothes 
of  a  spirit  as  distinctly  as  the  features." 

Mr.  Varley :  "  Yes.  I  think  I  see  the  drift  of  that  question, 
I  was  very  much  astonished  when  I  saw  a  spirit  in  a  dress.  I 
explain  it  in  this  way;  all  known  powers  have  to  be  treated  as 
solids  in  regard  to  something;  a  man  finds  air  not  solid  at  all. 
He  can  move  through  it  as  though  it  did  not  exist,  but  when  he 
comes  to  an  iron-clad  ship  he  is  stopped,  he  cannot  pass  through 
iron.  Well,  electricity  finds  air  the  most  solid  substance  possible ; 
it  cannot  pass  through  it,  but  it  passes  through  the  iron-clad  ship 
as  though  it  were  not  in  existence.  An  iron  wire  is  to  an  elec- 
trician simply  a  hole  bored  through  a  solid  rock  of  air  so  that 


'HE 


UN  V     <S(TY    ; 


(.>» 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    291 

the  electricity  may  pass  freely.  Glass  is  opaque  to  electricity  but 
transparent  to  magnetism.  Thence  we  may  infer  that  everything 
is  solid  in  respect  to  something  and  that  nothing  is  solid  in  respect 
to  all  things,  and  therefore  thought,  which  is  power,  may  be  in 
some  sort  solid,  so  that  if  you  take  an  old  English  farmer,  for 
instance,  he  would  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  without  his  top  boots, 
his  coat  with  the  buttons,  and  his  hat.  They  are  part  of  his  iden- 
tity, he  cannot  think  of  himself  without  them ;  they  form  part  of 
his  nature,  and  the  moment  he  leaves  the  body  and  becomes  a 
thought  man,  the  thought  boots,  the  thought  coat  and  the  thought 
hat  form  part  of  his  individuality." 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Varley  closed  the  proceedings  and 
the  meeting  adjourned. 

THE   COUNTESS    DE    POMAR. 

To  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society  appointed 
to  investigate  "  Spiritualism." 

"  Gentlemen  :  Having  been  requested  by  some  members  of 
your  Committee  to  furnish  a  report  of  seances  at  which  I  have 
been  present,  I  have  concluded,  after  duly  considering  the  matter, 
to  do  so  upon  condition  of  being  allowed  to  state  my  views  re- 
specting the  value  of  spiritual  communications. 

*'  Seances  are  so  much  alike  in  all  essentials  that  little  good 
can  be  derived  from  reporting  them  unless  we  consider  them 
with  reference  to  their  value  as  evidence  of  the  individuality  and 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  this  is  in  fact  the  true  touchstone  of  their 
importance ;  and  therefore  I  must,  as  a  preliminary  to  my  report 
of  spiritual  experiences,  offer  a  few  considerations  in  regard  to  the 
vexed  questions  as  to  whether  the  soul  is  material  or  immaterial, 
mortal  or  immortal. 

"  In  doing  so,  however,  I  do  not  suppose  that  all  difficulties 
are  to  be  instantly  removed;  on  the  contrary,  I  fully  admit  that 
differences  of  opinion  must  be  expected  to  exist,  and  only  ask 
the  same  concession  from  those  who  are  opposed  to  my  views. 

"  Those  who  argue  that  the  soul  is  material  in  the  sense  of 
being  a  manifestation  of  matter  in  action,  must  in  candor,  con- 
fess that  they  have  a  great  many  difficulties  to  contend  with  in  de- 


292  Book  of  Knowledge. 

monstrating  their  views ;  and  they  should  therefore  admit  as  I  do, 
that  in  relation  to  all  such  questions,  there  must  be  more  or  less 
of  honest  difference  of  opinion  since  all  men  cannot  see  and  judge 
alike;  and  each  will  judge  according  to  his  capacity  for  judging. 
No  one  would  expect  a  mere  peasant  to  understand  the  laws  of 
electricity  as  they  were  understood  by  Faraday;  and  the  same 
difference  must  exist  with  well-educated  men,  for  they  are  not 
all  on  the  same  level,  and  therefore  they  cannot  see  with  the 
same  eyes. 

"  The  ideas  of  beauty  presented  to  the  mind  by  the  works  of 
Rembrandt,  Rubens,  Titian  and  Murillo  vary  as  widely  as  does 
the  style  of  those  great  painters  and  the  appreciation  of  those 
who  contemplate  them. 

"  Some  maintain  that  the  German  composers  are  the  finest 
the  world  ever  produced,  others  are  equally  ready  to  do  battle 
in  favor  of  the  Italian  School. 

"  There  are  men  who,  with  Plato,  would  banish  poets  from 
the  republic  of  letters ;  others  believe  them  to  be  the  first  and  best 
of  educators.  Carlyle  sometimes  waxes  furious  when  speaking 
of  the  fine  arts  which  others  believe  to  be  essential  to  the  well- 
being  of  society. 

**  In  like  manner  men  of  equal  integrity  differ  respecting 
religious  theories;  and,  therefore,  the  only  safe  conclusion  to  be 
arrived  at  is  that  human  beings  are  not  capable  of  seeing  alike, 
but  that  reasoning  upon  precisely  the  same  evidence  men  will 
reach  opposite  conclusions,  and,  consequently,  that  opposite 
opinions  must  be  held. 

''  This,  however,  can  be  very  easily  accounted  for  by  those 
who  maintain  that  our  present  life  is  but  one  of  a  series  of  lives 
through  which  we  must  pass  in  order  to  attain  perfection,  and 
in  each  of  which  we  are  only  capable  of  a  certain  amount  of 
growth  and  development. 

"  Those  who  deny  Spiritualism  as  a  whole  and  who  believe 
the  present  life  to  be  the  all  of  existence,  must  confess  that  they 
have  some  difficult  points  to  explain.  For  instance,  what  is  to  be 
said  about  memory  and  its  relation  to  matter?  It  is  assumed  that 
all  our  mental  perceptions  are  inseparably  associated  with  the 
brain,  and  what  is  seen  by  the  physical  eye  is  afterwards  seen  by 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society,    293 

the  mental  eye,  both,  however,  being  material;  in  which  case  it 
must  follow  that  the  impressions  received  are  actually  stamped 
upon  material  substance ;  so  that  what  men  call  '  remembering ' 
is  literally  nothing  more  than  bringing  out  the  old  mental  pho- 
tograph which  has  been  stored  in  the  brain. 

"  There  is,  however,  a  physiological  difficulty  connected  with 
this  assumption.  Physiologists  inform  us  that  the  human  body 
is  perpetually  undergoing  change;  that  at  every  instant  of  time 
new  matter  is  taking  place  of  the  old,  and  that  at  short  intervals 
the  body  is  so  completely  changed  that  not  an  atom  of  its  former 
self  remains.  This  change,  too,  and  especially  with  those  who 
read  and  think  much,  is  more  active,  they  tell  us,  in  the  brain 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  body;  so  that,  it  is  concluded,  only  a 
«till  shorter  time  is  needed  to  insure  a  complete  change  of  the 
matter  of  which  the  brain  is  composed.  This  being  the  case, 
and  no  physiologist  will  dispute  it,  how  can  it  be  accounted  for 
that  we  are  capable  of  remembering  events  that  occurred  and 
scenes  we  viewed  thirty  or  forty  years  ago?  The  scenes  of  our 
childhood  are  still  visible  to  the  mental  eye  and  the  tones  of  the 
mother's  voice  are  still  as  clearly  heard  by  the  mental  ear,  as 
they  were  forty  years  before,  when  first  they  sounded  through  the 
physical  chambers. 

"Is  it  possible  to  explain  this  fact  by  the  material  theory? 
To  do  so  it  is  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  old  matter,  which 
originally  received  the  impressions,  restamped  these  upon  the 
new ;  and  that  this  process  was  repeated  every  time  the  molecules 
of  matter  were  changed ;  that  is  to  say  twelve  or  fifteen  times  in 
a  life-time. 

"  But  how  can  this  be  done  and  we  remain  unconscious  of 
the  process?  If  my  seeing  a  waterfall  with  the  physical  eye 
produces  a  mental  picture  I  recall  at  pleasure  how  can  that  men- 
tal picture  of  the  waterfall  be  stamped  into  my  new  brain  matter 
without  my  being  conscious  of  the  act  ?  For  the  restamping  must 
be  necessary  in  all  cases,  even  those  in  which  for  many  years 
the  scene  remembered  has  not  recurred  to  the  mind;  and,  ob- 
viously, in  such  cases  the  ideas  of  things  must  have  passed  from 
old  molecules  to  new  ones  without  our  being  in  any  way  conscious 
of  the  transaction. 


294  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  Surely  this  is  harder  to  believe  than  is  the  theory,  that 
memory  is  a  result  of  the  action  of  a  spiritual  element  in  our 
nature,  which  remains  essentially  the  same  during  its  connection 
with  the  physical  body  the  particles  of  which  are  constantly 
changing. 

**  Then  there  is  the  difficulty  of  explaining  how  matter  can 
produce  ideas.  Is  it  not  impossible  to  speak  of  ideas  as  of  mate- 
rial objects?  Can  we  conceive  of  extension  or  ponderability  in 
connection  with  our  thoughts?  To  speak  of  a  pound  of  sorrow 
or  of  an  ounce  of  hope  seems  impossible ;  we  cannot  expect  either 
music  or  poetry  from  the  rock  or  the  plant;  yet  both  the  latter 
enter  into  the  composition  of  our  mortal  bodies;  and  it  ought 
to  be  as  feasible  to  extract  the  former  from  the  earth  or  from 
potatoes  in  their  natural  condition,  as  after  they  have  been  con- 
sumed, if  matter  can  think  and  produce  ideas. 

"  Of  course  it  will  be  said  that  we  must  not  expect  ideas  from 
matter  before  it  becomes  organized;  but  here  again  a  difficulty 
occurs.  It  is  generally  said  by  physiologists,  that  in  chemical 
composition  as  in  formation  no  difference  exists  between  the 
brain  of  the  Esquimau  and  that  of  the  most  highly  cultivated 
European.  Their  elements  and  their  mode  of  organization  are 
the  same;  and  yet  how  different  are  the  men!  But  would  this 
be  the  case,  if  it  were  true  that  matter  produces  ideas?  Should 
not  the  same  results  follow  from  the  same  organization?  The 
question  cannot  be  one  of  weight,  because  it  is  known  that  the 
contents  of  the  skull  of  some  Esquimaux  or  Red  Indians  weigh 
more. than  do  those  of  some  educated  Europeans.  Plato  is  re- 
ported as  having  had  a  very  large  head ;  and  it  has  been  argued 
from  this  that  he  was  therefore  more  capable  of  laborious  thought. 
It  is  also  said  that  from  men  of  small  heads  we  have  no  right  to 
expect  great  works  of  philosophy  or  art.  But  is  it  not  well- 
known  that  very  bad  men  have  had  large  heads  ?  Look  at  a  col- 
lection of  busts,  from  those  of  bad  Roman  Emperors  down  to 
the  modern  murderers,  and  how  many  of  them  are  found  to  have 
larger  heads  than  some  who  have  worked  nobly  for  the  elevation 
of  the  human  race. 

"  If  the  quality  of  mind  resulted  solely  from  the  size  of  the 
brain,  we  should  have  a  right  to  expect  equal  results  from  equal 
weights;  this,  however,  is  not  the  case. 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    295 

"  If  space  permitted  a  legion  of  kindred  difficulties  might  be 
suggested ;  enough,  however,  has  been  said  to  prove  that  modesty 
should  be  shown  by  Anti- Spiritualists  when  insisting  upon 
what  they  are  pleased  to  call  '  the  weakness  of  spirit  evidence.' 

"  But  the  Spiritualist  does  not  pretend  that  he  has  no  difficul- 
ties to  contend  with;  on  the  contrary,  he  confesses  them,  and 
knows  that  it  is  in  the  nature  of  the  case  for  them  to  exist;  the 
Spiritualist  admits  it  to  be  impossible  for  him  to  show  the  soul 
as  he  can  show  a  physical  organ ;  or  to  analyze  it  as  he  does  gases 
and  solids.  But  he  has  a  full  consciousness  of  its  existence ;  and 
is  sensible  of  the  fact  that  it  is  spirit  alone  which  can  give  evi- 
dence of  itself.  Soul  alone  can  conceive  of  soul.  Material  bodies 
can  only  be  tested  by  material  agents;  and,  as  the  lesser  cannot 
comprehend  the  greater,  it  is  certain  that  self-consciousness  is  the 
true  evidence  of  the  soul's  existence. 

"  How  can  a  child  comprehend  a  man  ?  Can  the  lower  nature 
comprehend  the  higher?  Does  the  coward  understand  the  hero? 
In  like  manner,  it  is  soul  alone  that  can  conceive  of  soul;  and 
according  to  their  degrees  of  development,  do  souls  comprehend 
each  other? 

"  It  is  therefore  but  reasonable  to  accept  the  evidence  of  our 
self-consciousness,  as  we  do  that  of  our  nervous  system ;  we  feel 
a  pain,  but  cannot  prove  the  fact  to  our  neighbors,  still  we  are 
sure  of  it  through  our  self-consciousness. 

"  We  must  deal  in  a  similar  way  with  the  question  of  immor- 
tality; and  it  is  somewhat  curious  that  this  question  should  be 
debated;  since  the  Materialists,  though  denying  a  future  state 
to  the  mind,  are  ready  enough  to  admit  their  belief,  that  matter 
cannot  be  destroyed ;  this  being  so,  how  can  they  conceive  of  the 
destruction  of  its  properties?  Vitality  may  be  latent  for  ages; 
but  supply  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  manifestation,  and 
at  once  it  becomes  active.  Seed  found  in  the  hand  of  an  Egyptian 
mummy  has  been  sown  and  produced  abundantly,  yet  no  one 
doubted  that  the  seed  had  been  enclosed  about  four  thousand 
years.  According  to  the  Materialist,  this  vitality  is  a  property 
of  matter;  and  if  the  Materialists  are  right,  so  also  is  conscious- 
ness ;  why  then,  if  the  former  be  persistent  may  not  the  latter  be 
so  too?    Does  it  not  rather  appear  that  once  developed  it  ought 


296  Book  of  Knowledge. 

to  go  on  forever?  Nature  wastes  nothing;  but  is  economical  in 
the  use  of  her  materials ;  why  then  suppose  that  the  atom  will  per- 
sist but  the  mind  that  studied  it  will  perish ;  that  the  earth  will  re- 
main, but  the  genius  that  solves  its  mysteries  of  flower,  tree  and 
stone  will  perish  ?  Does  not  the  consciousness  of  the  superior  value 
of  our  inner  selves  become  evidence  in  favor  of  the  idea  that 
the  higher  nature  will  survive  the  changes  of  matter,  and  live  on 
in  knowledge,  when  the  materials  of  the  physical  frame  will 
have  been  reincorporated  with  a  thousand  other  forms? 

"  It  is  at  this  point  that  Spiritualism  comes  to  our  aid  by  fur- 
nishing proof  of  the  soul's  immortality.  Unhappily,  however,  so 
numerous  are  the  mocking  voices  it  cannot  obtain  the  unbiased 
hearing  its  great  importance  demands;  a  consequence  probably 
of  its  being  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  age,  and,  to  some  extent, 
on  account  of  the  impositions  which  have  been  practised  in  its 
name. 

"  When  it  was  proposed  to  light  London  with  gas  no  less 
a  man  than  Sir  Walter  Scott  printed  his  protest  against  the  ridic- 
ulous attempt  to  light  the  streets  of  a  city  with  smoke.  What 
was  reported  by  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  against 
railways?  And  who  has  not  heard  of  the  scorn  encountered  by 
the  first  advocates  of  vaccination  and  of  oceanic  telegraphy? 
Still  these  discoveries  have  all  made  their  way,  as  Spiritualism 
will  do  ere  long,  for  nothing  can  resist  the  collective  evidence  in 
its  favor. 

"  Nor  is  that  evidence  so  completely  modern  as  many  seem 
to  suppose,  for  in  all  history  the  belief  has  prevailed  that  spirits 
having  left  their  mortal  bodies  were  permitted  to  communicate 
with  those  they  loved  and  who  were  still  in  the  flesh.  Homer, 
Herodotus,  Plato,  Cicero,  etc.,  all  speak  distinctly  as  to  the  belief 
entertained  by  the  ancient  nations,  and  when  we  read  the  history 
of  Saul  and  Samuel  and  the  '  Witch  of  Endor,'  we  cannot  doubt 
as  to  what  was  the  belief  of  the  Hebrew  people. 

"  In  the  Christian  world  the  belief  has  never  failed,  and  this 
not  merely  because  it  is  pleasing  to  believe  that  the  dear  ones 
dead  still  take  an  interest  in  our  condition ;  but  because  of  testi- 
mony given  by  so  many  of  the  noblest  and  purest  of  men  and 
women  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  thus  visited.     From  the 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    297 

days  of  the  Christian  fathers  there  is  an  unbroken  hne  of  testi- 
mony to  this  fact,  and  curiously  enough,  it  is  borne  by  men  who 
are  applauded  for  everything  but  this  belief  in  Spiritualism. 
When  they  speak  of  what  they  saw  and  knew  they  are  rejected ; 
but  are  reverently  believed  when  speaking  about  matters  of  specu- 
lation. 

"It  is  not  here  denied  that  errors  have  been  mingled  with 
the  aforesaid  belief,  but  what  is  contended  for  is  this,  that  when 
so  many  millions  of  people,  led  by  thousands  of  eminent  men, 
have  believed  themselves  to  be  in  direct  communication  with  the 
spirits  of  the  dead,  and  when  the  wisest  of  human  teachers 
have  recorded  the  fact  of  their  experience,  no  one  can  be  justified 
in  denying  these  statements  until  he  has  gained  such  a  knowledge 
of  the  economy  of  the  universe  as  will  entitle  him  to  say  that 
all  such  communications  are  impossible.  We  must  first  know 
what  is  possible  before  saying  that  such  visits  are  impossible. 

"  Those  who  developed  the  telegraphic  systems  cared  nothing 
for  the  outsiders  who  said  that  such  a  mode  of  sending  messages 
must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  '  impossible.'  Relying  upon 
their  own  experience,  although  unable  to  understand  the  nature 
of  the  phenomena  of  electricity  they  still  went  on  and  now  we 
send  our  messages  round  the  world. 

"  In  the  presence  of  '  so  great  a  crowd  of  witnesses  '  it  appears 
almost  superfluous  to  speak  of  my  own  experience,  and  yet  I 
must  do  so,  for  I  know  by  what,  to  myself,  are  infallible  proofs 
of  the  truth,  that  spirits  do  hold  communication  with  us.  I 
never  doubted  the  immortality  of  the  soul  so  that  I  did  not  need 
confirmation  of  the  fact,  yet  I  gladly  testify  that  it  has  been  given 
to  me  and  in  great  abundance.  And  to  show  that  I  have  not 
been  self-deceived,  I  will  mention  one  particular  fact. 

"  During  a  period  of  five  months  I  was  a  '  medium,'  and  even 
when  sitting  alone,  I  have  frequently  had  communications  so 
clear  and  distinct  that  mistake  was  impossible,  for  ideas  have 
been  thus  conveyed  to  me  which  previously  had  no  place  in 
my  mind. 

"  This  power  suddenly  quitted  me  and  it  has  never  returned. 
Now  had  it  been  a  case  of  self-deception,  is  it  not  clear  that  it 
would  have  continued,  seeing  that  as  far  as  health,  mental  power, 


298  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  belief  in  spiritual  communications  are  concerned,  I  under- 
went no  change. 

"  Then  again,  I  have  sat  in  my  own  house  with  personal 
friends,  no  other  medium  but  myself  being  present;  and  the 
communications  respecting  departed  relatives  and  friends  were 
alike  interesting  and  remarkable.  I  have  been  told  of  many 
things  about  them  of  which  I  had  no  previous  knowledge  and 
which  the  persons  sitting  with  me  could  not  have  known,  for  the 
communications  were  from  those  who  had  died  in  distant  coun- 
tries, and  yet  these  proved  to  be  correct;  many  of  them  have 
been  in  Spanish.  All  this  has  occurred  to  me  through  my  own 
mediumship. 

"  I  have  attended  many  seances,  with  more  or  less  marked 
results,  and  I  think  it  right  to  mention  that  I  have  sat  several 
times  with  Mr.  Home  without  having  a  single  manifestation, 
even  when  the  whole  circle  has  been  composed  of  friends  and 
Spiritualists.  At  others  we  have  obtained  the  most  beautiful 
manifestations  through  his  mediumship;  we  have  thus  had  mes- 
sages, movements  of  inanimate  objects,  and  music,  perfect  in 
sentiment  and  expression,  on  the  accordion,  which  has  frequently 
played  in  my  hand  when  sitting  near  him.  Of  these  seances  it 
will  probably  be  more  interesting  to  mention  one  which,  as  we 
were  not  sitting  for  the  purpose,  should  be  called  ^  no  seance/ 

"  Death  was  in  the  house ;  and  the  beloved  one  who  had  left 
us  was  yet  uncoffined.  I  was  sitting  in  the  library  with  my  son 
at  the  tea-table,  and  we  were  sitting  close  together,  as  the  sorrow 
of  the  hour  rendered  it  natural  we  should  do,  when  Mr.  Home  was 
unexpectedly  announced;  he  had  come  from  a  public  reading, 
dressed  as  he  had  been  on  the  platform  and  consequently  with 
no  possibility  of  the  machinery  about  him  which  so  many  un- 
believers suppose  him  to  carry  concealed.  He  was  quite  unaware 
of  the  sad  event  that  had  occurred  his  first  intention  having  been 
merely  to  make  inquiries  at  the  door.  He  drew  a  chair  up  to 
the  table  beside  my  son  and  affectionately  placed  an  arm  round 
his  waist. 

"  Raps  were  heard  almost  immediately,  on  the  table,  on  the 
chandeliers  and  in  various  parts  of  the  room;  we  adopted  the 
usual  course  of  repeating  the  alphabet,  and  the  messages  spelt 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    299 

out  were  '  Joy,  not  sorrow  '  and  '  Not  gone  away ' ;  directly  after 
this,  as  if  in  confirmation  of  the  statement,  the  favorite  seat  of 
the  departed,  a  large  armchair,  which  was  standing  in  its  usual 
place  near  the  window  at  the  further  end  of  the  room,  moved 
in  a  sweep  towards  the  table  at  which  we  were  sitting,  and  came 
nearly  round  to  my  side.  Then  a  sofa  moved  across  the  room  in 
another  direction;  while  this  was  occurring  we  three  were  still 
at  the  table  from  which  Mr.  Home  had  not  moved  since  he  first 
sat  down. 

*'  In  this  case  there  could  not  be  any  ocular  delusion.  No 
seance  had  been  proposed;  we  were  not  sitting  with  our  hands 
on  the  table  as  is  the  custom  at  seances  and  the  room  was  well 
lighted  with  gas. 

"  My  son  was  somewhat  alarmed  at  what  had  occurred.  I 
seeing  the  power  was  so  great,  got  out  an  accordion  which  I  had 
purchased  myself  for  these  occasions,  and  which  had  been  twice 
changed  at  the  shop  by  me,  it  having  been  pronounced  out  of 
tune  by  the  invisible  performers,  who  always  showed  us  the  fact 
by  playing  the  discordant  notes.  I  then  begged  them  to  play 
something  in  accordance  with  our  feelings ;  and  a  very  beautiful 
and  solemn  air  was  played,  while  Mr.  Home  held  the  instrument, 
which  he  did,  not  only  under  the  table,  but  horizontally  in  the 
air,  or  above  his  head,  according  to  the  impulses  they  gave  to  it. 
As  they  finished  playing,  it  came  towards  me,  and  Mr.  Home 
told  me  to  take  it,  which  I  did,  and  it  then  played  a  favorite 
tune  which  I  asked  for,  partly  in  my  hand  and  partly  in  his  as 
he  took  it  from  me,  when  the  sounds  had  become  faint  from  my 
want  of  power. 

"  What  could  I  do  but  believe  the  evidence  of  my  own  senses, 
corroborated  too,  as  that  evidence  has  been  by  so  many  others  ? 

"  To  multiply  narratives  of  this  kind  is  comparatively  use- 
less; were  it  not  so,  I  could  fill  a  large  volume  with  reports  of 
remarkable  seances  at  which  I  have  been  present.  I  prefer  to 
add  a  few  remarks  respecting  the  value  of  spirit  communication 
and  first  as  to  the  curious  fact  that  to  the  same  question  different 
spirits  give  various  and  sometimes  contradictory  answers.  There 
is  a  stumbling  block  to  many  but  the  reason  of  the  fact  is  clear 
and  not  far  to  seek.    Some  people  suppose  that  when  the  spirit 


300  Book  of  Knowledge. 

has  left  the  body,  it  is  immediately  enlightened  and  purified,  so 
that  it  at  once  learns  all  it  will  ever  know  and  becomes  perfect. 
But  is  that  a  rational  supposition?  Can  it  be  believed  that  im- 
mediately after  death  the  soul  of  the  illiterate  shoe-black  becomes 
all  at  once  enlightened  as  the  soul  of  Shakespeare?  Who  can 
imagine  that  the  soul  of  Mrs.  Manning  can  be  changed  instantly 
after  death  so  as  to  become  as  pure  and  holy  as  that  of  Mrs.  Fry  ? 
In  the  order  of  nature  there  are  no  such  sudden  transformations 
and  we  have  no  right  to  expect  them  after  death. 

"  On  the  contrary,  we  should  expect  that  growth  in  knowledge 
and  goodness  will  be  in  the  future  as  gradual  as  it  is  in  the  pres- 
ent, and  if  this  be  so,  we  can  at  once  account  for  the  contradictory 
answers  so  frequently  given  by  spirits;  if  one  of  these  has  but 
recently  left  us,  it  cannot  know  much  more  than  it  knew  while  in 
the  flesh,  and  therefore  will  err  when  speaking  of  subjects  it 
can  only  fully  understand,  when  it  has  reached  a  much  higher 
degree  of  knowledge. 

"  In  like  manner  the  moral  nature  requires  a  long  period  of 
time  to  change  from  bad  to  good;  so  that  if  a  soul  passes  away 
while  steeped  in  sin  and  falsehood,  it  cannot  all  at  once  become 
pure  and  true ;  such  a  spirit  if  called  upon  to  answer  a  question, 
is  therefore  as  likely  to  speak  ignorantly  and  falsely,  as  it  would 
have  been  while  in  the  flesh.  This  we  are  learning  from  our  in- 
tercourse with  the  spirit-world,  and  we  believe  it  to  be  true  be- 
cause it  harmonizes  with  what  commonsense  teaches  us  must 
be  the  case  in  that  world  as  in  this.  It  will  possibly  be  said,  that 
this  must  cast  more  or  less  doubts  on  all  spirit  communications; 
but  no  spirit  has  ever  imagined  that  absolute  reliance  is  to  be 
placed  in  what  spirits  say.  We  must  always  use  our  own  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  these  communications  and  take  each  of  them 
for  what  they  may  be  worth. 

"  All  the  spirits  with  whom  I  have  had  communication  have 
invariably  told  me  that  they  do  grow  in  knowledge  and 
goodness,  and  this  through  being  incarnated;  that  they  return 
to  this  earth  many  times,  as  many  as  are  necessary  for  enabling 
them  to  grow  to  perfection. 

"  This  quite  accords  with  my  own  deep  conviction.  If  I  be 
asked  how  long  it  would  take  a  spirit  to  rise  through  the  various 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    301 

degrees  until  it  is  fitted  for  leaving  this  sphere  I  could  not  answer, 
except  to  say,  there  will  be  time  enough  in  eternity  for  the  due 
perfection  of  all,  however  imperfect  may  be  their  natures  to-day, 
and  in  the  hope  and  conviction  I  rest  content,  quite  certain  that 
such  a  thing  as  eternal  punishment  is  altogether  contrary  to  the 
great  law  of  God  which  is  written  on  all  His  works — ^the  law 
of  eternal  progress. 

"  The  sin  We  have  committed,  or  are  inclined  to  commit,  we 
shall  suffer  for  until  we  have  thoroughly  purged  it  out  of  our 
natures;  the  wrong  wp  have  done  we  shall  expiate  and  we  shall 
not  come  out  free  until  we  have  paid  the  uttermost  farthing ;  but 
we  shall  pay  it,  and  go  gladly  on  our  way,  when  we  have  left 
it  far  behind  us,  *  always  stretching  forward  towards  the  mark,' 
perfect  happiness  awaiting  us  as  we  get  further  on  in  our  long 
journey,  happiness  which  will  really  be  our  own,  because  we  have 
worked  for  and  earned  it,  and  have  grown  up  to  understand  and 
yearn  after  it.  Our  happiness  will  be  to  all  good,  all  wise,  all  pure, 
'  perfect  as  our  Father  is  perfect.'  Can  any  single  life  on  earth 
perfect  us  sufficiently  even  to  comprehend  such  perfection  ?  And 
yet  the  standard  was  given ! 

"  In  these  latter  days  science  has  come  to  help  us  on  our 
way  and  show  us  the  weak  points  of  the  old  creeds.  But  lest  we 
should  bow  down  and  content  ourselves  with  science  alone.  Spirit- 
ualism has  come  with  it,  side  by  side,  the  same  discoveries  in 
electricity  which  enable  us  to  send  our  thoughts  to  the  other  side 
of  the  earth  were  borne  by  Benjamin  Franklin  to  the  other  side 
of  the  grave,  and  also  serve  our  spirit  friends  to  produce  the 
little  rap  that  sends  a  thrill  of  joy  through  our  frame,  as  we 
receive  a  telegraphic  message  from  those  who  have  gone  before 
us  to  that  bright  shore,  proving  that  we  are  still  loved  and  re- 
membered and  that  the  dead  are  not  dead  and  can  never  die ;  and 
in  this  certainty  I  rest  content,  not  doubting  that  as  time  passes. 
Spiritualism  will  become  triumphant  and  that  the  noble  doctrine 
to  which  it  bears  testimony — that  of  the  reincarnation — will  be 
received  by  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men;  giving  them  that 
peace  and  consolation  which  no  other  doctrine  has  succeeded  in 
giving  to  humanity. 

"  M.  DE  Medina  Pomar.'' 


302  Book  of  Knowledge. 

MR.  WILLIAM  HOWITT. 

The  Orchard,  Esher,  Feb.  26,  1869. 

Dear  Sir:  On  my  return  from  a  fortnight's  absence,  I 
find  on  my  table  a  letter  from  you  on  behalf  of  the  Dialectical 
Society,  wishing  for  information  on  the  subject  of  Spiritualism 
in  reference  to  an  investigation  into  its  phenomena,  proposed 
to  be  made  by  the  Society.  This  statement  will  explain  the 
cause  of  my  silence.     I  reply  to  you  now  at  once. 

I  am  by  no  means  sanguine  of  any  good  result  from  the  in- 
quiries of  such  committees.  EngHshmen,  otherwise  well  ad- 
vanced in  the  intelligence  of  the  time,  are,  as  it  regards  Spirit- 
ualism, twenty  years  behind  the  literary  and  scientific  publics 
of  France,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  the  United  States  of 
America.  Scores  of  societies  of  those  countries,  and  millions 
of  individuals,  have  entered  upon  and  passed  actively  through 
the  investigations  which  you  are  now  commencing,  ten,  fifteen 
and  twenty  years  ago.  However,  better  late  than  never.  Like 
the  Seven  Sleepers  and  Rip  Van  Winkle,  some  few  of  our 
Englishmen  of  science  and  literature  are  at  length  waking  up, 
to  find  the  world  of  intelligence  abroad  gone  far  ahead  of  them. 
Though  late,  it  is  still  laudable.  Perhaps  when  the  Dialectical 
Society  has  determined  the  present  point  it  will  set  on  foot  a 
similar  inquiry  into  the  correctness  of  the  theory  of  the  Coper- 
nican  system,  of  that  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  of  the 
principle  of  gravitation,  and  of  the  identity  of  lightning  and 
electricity;  for  Spiritualism,  having  now  received  the  assent 
of  about  twenty  millions  of  people  in  all  countries,  after  per- 
sonal examination,  stands  fairly  on  the  same  basis  of  fact  that 
they  do.  Pray  do  not,  however,  imagine  me  disposed  to  be 
satirical.  I  am  simply  asserting  what  appears  to  me  a  most 
prominent  and  unavoidable  truth. 

You  ask  me  to  give  you  any  suggestions  which  I  may  think 
calculated  to  assist  you  in  your  inquiry.  Most  willingly;  but 
I  am  afraid  that  it  will  be  much  easier  for  me  to  suggest  than 
for  you  to  adopt  my  chief  suggestion,  which  is,  to  endeavor 
before  opening  your  inquiries,  to  divest  your  minds  of  all 
prejudice  on  the  subject.    The  tendency  of  both  philosophy 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    303 

and  general  education  for  more  than  a  century  has  been,  whilst 
striving  to  suppress  all  prejudice,  to  create  a  load  of  prejudice 
against  everything  spiritual.  Science,  philosophy  and  general 
opinion  have  assumed,  more  and  more,  a  material  character, 
and  in  no  country  more  than  in  this.  I  must  say  to  you  as 
judges  say  to  juries,  "  Gentlemen :  Divest  your  minds  of  all 
mere  hearsay ;  fix  them  only  on  the  evidence."  It  is  not  easy ; 
but  till  you  have  done  this,  you  can  make  no  real  progress  in 
your  present  inquiry.  You  may  as  well  expect  the  delicate 
flowers  of  your  conservatories  to  flourish  in  a  night's  frost  out 
of  doors.  To  produce  correct  results  you  must  establish  the 
necessary  conditions.  Now,  if  you  follow  the  example  of 
Messrs.  Faraday  and  Tyndall,  and  insist  on  dictating  condi- 
tions on  a  subject  of  which  you  are  ignorant,  failure  is  in- 
evitable. You  must  come  to  the  subject  with  candor,  and  be 
willing  to  study  carefully  the  laws  and  characteristics  of  the 
matter  under  consideration.  It  is  from  obedience  or  dis- 
obedience to  this  principle  that  inquiries  instituted  by  societies, 
or  by  small  companies  of  persons  with  minds  open  to  the  truth, 
have  succeeded  or  failed.  The  results  of  such  inquiries  are, 
that  whilst  societies  and  committees  have  retired  generally 
from  the  investigation  without  obtaining  positive  facts,  and 
therefore  believing  that  no  such  existed,  private  companies  and 
individuals  have  obtained  the  most  unquestionable  spiritual 
phenomena  to  the  amount  of  twenty  millions  of  believers. 
From  time  to  time,  accordingly,  we  have  learnt  that  Spiritual- 
ism has  been  demonstrated  undeniably  to  be  a  myth  and  a 
delusion ;  that  it  was  dead  and  gone ;  that  the  Davenports  and 
other  mediums  have  been  proved  imposters  and  utterly  put 
down;  the  truth  being  all  the  time  that  the  Davenports  re- 
mained as  genuine  mediums  as  before,  and  that  Spiritualism 
has  gone  forward,  advancing  and  expanding  its  field  of  action, 
without  the  least  regard  to  the  failures,  the  falsehoods,  the 
misrepresentations  and  the  malice  of  men. 

Your  second  wish  expressed  is,  that  I  would  "  endeavor  to 
throw  some  light  on  the  connection  apparently  existing  be- 
tween Spiritualism  and  animal  magnetism,  or  would  refer  you 
to  any  books  other  than  Reichenbach,  Gregory,  Feuditers- 
leben,  Ennemoser,  Lee,  Ashburner,  myself,  etc." 


304  Book  of  Knowledge. 

In  referring  you  to  a  few  of  the  leading  works  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  especially  to  those  more  particularly  dealing  with  the 
connection  between  Spiritualism  and  magnetism,  I  may  excuse 
myself  from  entering  on  my  own  views  on  this  subject,  which 
would  extend  too  far  the  limits  of  this  letter. 

From  the  first  fact  to  which  I  have  alluded,  that  of  the  very 
late  period  at  which  Englishmen  of  letters  have  entered  on  this 
inquiry  compared  with  those  of  other  countries,  there  exists 
an  extensive  spiritual  literature  in  both  America,  France,  Swit- 
zerland and  Germany.  I  can  for  your  present  purposes  indi- 
cate only  a  very  few  of  these  works,  and  those  exclusively  by 
scientific  and  learned  writers. 

Amongst  American  works  on  Spiritualism  you  should  care- 
fully read  the  Introduction,  by  Judge  Edmonds,  to  "  Spiritual- 
ism,*' by  Judge  Edmonds  and  G.  T.  Dexter,  where  you  have 
the  experiences  of  an  able  lawyer  testing  evidence  as  he  would 
do  in  a  court  of  justice. 

Next,  the  "  Investigations  "  of  Professor  Hare,  in  which, 
as  a  great  electrician,  he  details  his  severe  and  long  continued 
scrutiny  into  the  nature  of  these  phenomena;  both  he  and 
Judge  Edmonds  having  undertaken  these  inquiries  in  the  full 
persuasion  that  they  should  expose  and  put  an  end  to  the  pre- 
tensions of  Spiritualism. 

I  do  not  refer  you  'here  to  the  numerous  works  of  A.  J. 
Davis  which,  though  most  remarkable  in  another  point  of 
view,  are  not  so  necessary  to  your  purpose. 

The  ''Footfalls  on  the  Boundary  of  Another  World,"  by 
the  Hon.  Robert  Dale  Owen,  a  carefully  and  clearly  reasoned 
work,  might  be  of  service  to  you. 

Of  German  works :  "  Die  Seherin  von  Prevorst,"  von  Jus- 
tinus  Kerner,  M.D. 

"  Die  Zwei  Besessener." 

"Die  Somnambulen  Tische.  Zur  Geschichte  und  Erklar- 
ungen  dieser  Erscheinung." 

Dr.  Kerner  was  a  man  of  profound  science,  and  distin- 
guished by  his  works  in  different  departments.  His  "  Seeress 
of  Prevorst,"  who  was  his  patient,  has  been  translated  by  Mrs. 
Crowe.    The  remarkable    phenomena    recorded    in  this  work 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society,    305 

are  especially  valuable,  as  they  have  all  been  so  fully  and  widely 
confirmed  by  the  experiences  of  spiritualists  of  all  countries 
since. 

Next  in  importance  to  these  are  the  inquiries  of  Herr  D. 
Hornung,  the  late  secretary  of  the  Berlin  Magnetic  Associa- 
tion: 

1.  "  Neue  Geheimnisse  des  Tages  durch  Geistes  Magnetis- 
mus,"  Leipsic,  1857. 

2.  "  Neuste  Erfahrungen  aus  dem  Geisterleben."  Leipsic, 
1858. 

3.  "  Heinrich  Heine,  der  Unsterbliche  " ;  also  a  brief  con- 
tinuation of  his  inquiries. 

These  works  contain  the  steady  and  persevering  researches 
and  experiments  of  Herr  Hornung  and  a  select  body  of  friends 
through  a  course  of  years.  Hornung  commenced  the  inquiry 
as  a  practical  magnetist,  and  continued  it  with  unwearied  assi- 
duity, tracing  the  phenomena  through  all  their  phases,  and 
availing  himself  of  the  experiences  of  scientific  men  in  all  parts 
of  Germany,  in  Switzerland,  France  and  Italy. 

The  works  of  Gorres,  one  of  the  most  learned  journalists 
and  historians  of  Germany,  especially  his  "  ChristHche  Mystik," 
abound  with  extraordinary  facts,  but  would  require  a  long 
time  to  peruse  them. 

In  French:  "The  Pneumatologie  of  the  Marquis  de  Mir- 
ville." 

"  Extraits  de  la  Pneumatologie,"  etc. 

"Des  Tables  Tournantes;  du  Surnaturel  en  General  et  des 
Esprits,"  of  the  Comte  de  Gasparin.     1854. 

"  Tables  Tournantes  "  de  Comte  de  Szapary.     1854. 

The  works  of  Baron  Dupotet  and  of  Puysegur. 

"  Pneumatologie  Positive  et  Experimentale,"  par  le  Baron 
de  Guldenstubbe. 

The  works  of  M.  Segouin,  who  through  magnetism  was 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  Spiritualism. 

Cahagnet's  "Arcanes  de  la  Vie  Future  Devoiles,"  and  his 
"  Encyclopedic  Magnetique  et  Spirituelle."    4  tom. 

But,  perhaps,  most  important  of  all  as  regards  your  in- 
quiry is  the  correspondence  of  the  two  celebrated  professors 


3o6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

of  magnetism,  M.M.  Deleuze  and  Billot,  who,  in  prosecuting 
their  magnetic  researches  were,  each  unknown  to  the  other, 
surprised  by  the  presence  of  spiritual  phenomena  of  the  most 
decided  and  varied  kind.  Glimpses  of  an  arriere  pensee  in 
their  published  works  led  to  an  explanation  between  them, 
which  was  published  in  two  volumes  in  Paris  in  1836.  I  may 
add  the  "  Journal  de  TAme,"  of  Dr.  Roessinger  of  Geneva,  and 
his  "  Fragment  sur  I'Electricite  Universelle." 

In  Italian :  Consoni's  "  Varieta  Elettro-Magnetico  e  Rela- 
tiva  Spiegazione." 

These  works,  by  men  chiefly  of  scientific  eminence,  are  more 
than  can  be  mastered  in  a  short  time — they  are  only  a  sample, 
the  rest  are  legion,  spiritual  literature  comprising  many  hun- 
dred volumes;  for,  as  I  have  said,  your  Society  is  now  enter- 
ing on  a  field  as  new  which  has  been  traversed  and  reaped 
many  years  ago.  And,  after  all,  though  evidently  disembodied 
spirits  come  into  contact  with  embodied  ones  through  the 
agency  of  magnetism  and  electricity,  there  is  probably  an  inner 
cognate  force  operating  in  the  process  which,  like  the  principle 
of  life,  lies  too  deep  for  discovery  by  any  human  powers. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  your 
proposed  labors, 

I  remain,  dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully, 

iWlLLIAM  HOWITT. 


SIR  EDWIN  ARNOLD. 

SiDCUP  Lodge,  Sidcup,  S.  E.,  July  10,  1869. 
Sir:  I  have  never  yet  been  able  to  fulfil  my  intention  of 
expressing,  either  by  letter  or  viva  voce,  my  conclusions  upon 
the  question  of  "  spiritual  manifestations."  In  the  first  place 
the  great  extent  of  the  subject,  and,  in  the  next,  my  unceasing 
occupations  must  explain  and  apologize  for  this.  Understand- 
ing, however,  that  your  investigations  are  drawing  to  a  close, 
I  feel  myself  bound  to  make  some  statement  of  my  opinion 
since  you  have  included  me  among  your  cited  witnesses,  and 
since  I  have  been  present  at  a  considerable  number  of  more 
or  less  remarkable  seances.    The  long  and  careful  inquiries 


Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  London  Dialectical  Society.    307 

which  your  committee  seems  to  have  conducted  renders  it  less 
important  that  I  should,  as  I  intended,  recapitulate  my  own 
experiences  as  an  observer  of  the  alleged  phenomena.  All  I 
desire  to  say,  and'  all  I  can  say  (without  reservation  and  ex- 
planations impossible  in  so  limited  a  space)  is  this :  that  I 
regard  many  of  the  manifestations  as  genuine  and  undeniable, 
and  inexplicable  by  any  known  law  or  any  collusion,  arrange- 
ment or  deception  of  the  senses;  and  that  I  conceive  it  to  be 
my  duty  and  the  interest  of  the  man  of  science  and  sense  to 
examine  and  prosecute  the  inquiry  as  one  which  has  fairly 
passed  from  the  region  of  ridicule.  I  am  not  inclined  to  con- 
sider what  I  hold  the  veritable  phenomena  as  being  in  any 
way  supernatural,  but  rather  as  initiatory  demonstrations  of 
mental  and  vital  power  not  yet  comprehended,  nor  regularly 
exercised.  With  reference  to  the  supposed  interpositions  and 
actions  of  departed  spirits,  I  can  see  nothing  against  the  anal- 
ogy of  nature  in  this,  but  it  is  not  a  proved  fact  for  me  by  what 
I  have  myself  witnessed.  The  statement  to  which  I  am  pre- 
pared to  attach  my  name  is  this:  That  conjoined  with  the  rub- 
bish of  much  ignorance  and  some  deplorable  folly  and  fraud, 
there  is  a  body  of  well  established  facts  beyond  denial,  and  out- 
side any  existing  philosophical  explanation,  which  facts  promise 
to  open  a  new  world  of  human  inquiry,  are  in  the  highest  de- 
gree interesting,  and  tend  to  elevate  ideas  of  the  continuity  of 
life,  and  to  reconcile,  perhaps,  the  materialist  and  the  meta- 
physician. 

I  am,  Sir,  faithfully  yours, 

Edwin  Arnold,  M.  A. 

PROFESSOR  HUXLEY. 

24  Abbey  Place,  Jan.  2,  1870. 

Sir:  I  have  been  unwilling  to  reply  to  your  letter  of  the 
i8th  December,  1869,  hastily,  and  I  therefore  delayed  my 
answer  until  my  return  from  a  short  absence  from  London. 

If  the  gentlemen  whom  you  mention,  and  for  whose  judg- 
ment and  capacity  I  have  every  respect,  have  not  been  able  in 
the  course  of  some  months  to  arrive  at  results  satisfactory  to 


3o8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

themselves,  and  capable  of  being  stated  satisfactorily  to  the 
scientific  public,  it  would  be  mere  presumption  in  me  to  enter- 
tain the  hope  that  I  should  be  more  successful  without  a  much 
greater  expenditure  of  time  and  trouble.  But  for  the  present 
year  my  time  and  energies  are  already  so  fully  preoccupied 
that  it  would  be  little  short  of  madness  for  me  to  undertake  an 
investigation  of  so  delicate  and  difficult  a  character,  the  only 
result  of  which  would  be  an  interminable  series  of  attacks  from 
the  side  from  which  I  might  chance  to  differ. 

I  hope  that  I  am  open  to  conviction  on  this  or  any  other 
point  or  subject ;  but  I  must  frankly  confess  to  you  that  it  does 
not  interest  me,  and  that  I  think  that  my  duty  as  a  man  of 
science  towards  the  public  may  be  much  better  discharged  by 
activity  in  other  directions. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  truly, 

T.  H.  Huxley. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SPIRITUALISM  IN  NORTH  AMERICA. 

From  "  The  History  of  the  Supernatural/'  by  William 

HOWITT. 

"  For  this  is  not  a  matter  of  to-day 
Or  yesterday,  but  hath  been  from  all  time, 
And  none  hath  told  us  whence  it  comes,  or  how." 

When  Spiritualism  had,  for  nearly  a  hundred  years,  been 
exhibiting  itself  in  Germany  under  a  variety  of  phases  and  had 
enhsted  in  its  cause  some  of  its  most  distinguished  philosophers 
and  savans,  it  made  a  new  and  still  more  general  appearance  in 
the  Western  Hemisphere.  It  originated  in  the  ordinary  visit 
of  what  the  Germans  had  denominated  a  Polter-Geist,  or  knock- 
ing-ghost;  but  either  the  temperament  of  the  North  American 
public  was  more  favorable  to  its  rapid  development,  or  the  time 
had  come  in  the  general  scheme  of  Providence  for  a  more  full 
and  decided  prevalence  of  spiritual  action;  for  it  spread  with 
almost  lightning  rapidity,  assumed  new  and  startling  forms,  and 
speedily  established  itself  a  great  and  significant  fact  in  the  con- 
victions of  more  than  three  millions  of  people  of  all  classes, 
professions  and  persuasions.  My  sketch  of  the  history  of  this 
development  in  the  United  States  must  necessarily  be  slight; 
its  details  fill  several  large  volumes,  and  may  be  sought  for  in 
Capron's  history  of  these  events,  **  Footfalls  on  the  Boundary 
of  Another  World,"  by  the  Hon.  Robert  Dale  Owen;  in  the 
works  of  Professor  Hare,  Judge  Edmonds,  Governor  Tal- 
madge,  the  Rev.  Adin  Ballou,  of  J.  P.  Davis,  the  recent  report 
on  American  Spiritualism  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Coleman,  the 
English  Spiritual  Magazine,  and  many  other  sources. 

The  spot  in  which  the  eventful  origin  of  the  American 
movement  took  place  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Dale  Owen,  who 


3IO  Book  of  Knowledge. 

had  visited  it :  "  There  stands,  not  far  from  the  town  of  New- 
ark, in  the  county  of  Mayne  and  State  of  New  York,  a  wooden 
dweUing — one  of  a  cluster  of  small  houses  like  itself,  scarcely 
meriting  the  title  of  a  village,  but  known  under  the  name  of 
Hydesville;  being  so-called  after  Dr.  Hyde,  an  old  settler, 
whose  son  is  the  proprietor  of  the  house  in  question.  It  is  a 
story  and  a  half  high,  fronting  south;  the  lower  floor  con- 
sisting, in  1848,  of  two  moderate-sized  rooms  opening  into 
each  other;  east  of  these  a  bedroom  and  a  buttery,  opening 
into  the  same  room;  together  with  a  staircase  between  the 
bedroom  and  buttery  leading  from  the  sitting  room  up  to  the 
half  story  above,  and  from  the  buttery  down  to  the  cellar." 

Such  was  the  humble  abode  where  the  great  American 
spiritual  movement  commenced.  A  Mr.  Michael  Weekman, 
it  appears,  had  occupied  the  house  about  the  year  1847  ^^^ 
had  been  troubled  by  certain  knockings  for  which  he  could 
find  no  explanation.  On  the  nth  of  December  of  that  year, 
Mr.  John  D.  Fox,  of  Rochester,  a  respectable  farmer,  moved 
into  this  house  whilst  another  in  the  country  was  building. 
His  family  consisted  of  himself,  his  wife  and  six  children;  but 
only  the  two  youngest  were  staying  with  them  at  that  time — 
Margaret,  twelve  years  old,  and  Kate,  nine  years  old.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  family  of  Mrs.  Fox  had  long  previously  evinced 
medium  power.  She  was  of  French  descent,  and  her  husband 
of  German,  the  original  name  Anglicized  from  Voss  to  Fox. 
Mrs.  Fox's  grandmother  had  been  possessed  of  second  sight, 
and  saw  frequently  funerals,  whilst  living  in  Long  Island,  be- 
fore they  really  took  place.  Her  sister,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hig- 
gins,  had  similar  power.  When  the  two  sisters  were  residing 
in  New  York  and  were  about  to  make  a  trip  by  water,  Eliza- 
beth Higgins  said  one  morning  that  they  should  not  go  by 
water,  but  by  land,  for  she  had  seen  the  whole  journey  in  a 
dream,  in  which  they  had  not  been  able  to  obtain  lodging  in  a 
certain  tavern  in  the  woods,  the  landlady  lying  dead  in  the 
house.  Mrs.  Fox  replied  that  this  could  scarcely  be  so,  for 
Mr.  Mott,  the  landlord,  lost  his  wife  the  year  before.  But  all 
fell  out  as  she  had  dreamed.  The  landlord  had  married  again, 
and  his  second  wife  lay  then  dead,  preventing  their  entertain- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  311 

ment.    All  the  circumstances  of  the  journey  were  exactly  as 
dreamed. 

Thus  open  to  spiritual  impressions,  the  Fox  family  entered 
the  house  at  Hydesville,  and  from  the  very  commencement 
they  were  disturbed  by  noises,  but  at  first  attributed  them  to 
rats  and  mice.  In  the  month  of  January,  1848,  however,  the 
noises  assumed  the  character  of  distinct  knockings  at  night  in 
the  bedrooms,  sounding  sometimes  as  from  the  cellar  below, 
and  resembling  the  hammering  of  a  shoemaker.  These 
knocks  produced  a  tremulous  motion,  since  familiar  enough  to 
spiritualists,  in  the  furniture  and  even  in  the  floor.  The  noises 
increased  nightly,  and  occasionally  they  heard  footsteps  in  the 
rooms.  The  children  felt  something  heavy,  as  of  a  dog,  lie  on 
their  feet  when  in  bed,  and  Kate  felt,  as  it  were,  a  cold  hand 
passed  over  her  face.  Sometimes  the  bedclothes  were  pulled 
off.  Throughout  February  and  to  the  middle  of  March  the 
disturbances  increased.  Chairs  and  the  dining  table  were 
moved  from  their  places.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fox  night  after  nig'ht 
lit  a  candle  and  explored  the  whole  house  in  vain.  Raps  were 
made  on  doors  as  they  stood  close  to  them,  but  on  suddenly 
opening  them,  no  one  was  visible.  It  was  afterwards  found 
that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weekman,  during  eighteen  months  that 
they  had  occupied  the  house,  had  just  the  same  experience  as 
to  the  knockings,  the  sound  of  footsteps,  and  t'he  impossibility 
to  catch  any  one  at  a  door,  which  was  suddenly  opened  by 
them  the  very  instant  of  the  knockings  upon  it.  The  Foxes 
were  far  from  superstitious,  and  still  hoped  for  some  natural 
explanation,  especially  as  the  annoyances  always  took  place  at 
night.  But  on  March  13,  1848,  matters  assumed  a  new  aspect. 
That  day,  which  was  cold,  stormy  and  snowy,  they  were  visited 
by  their  son  David  from  his  farm,  about  three  miles  distant. 
His  mother  related  to  him  their  annoyances,  on  which  he 
smiled  and  said,  "  Say  not  a  word  to  any  of  the  neighbors 
about  it.  When  you  find  it  out,  it  will  be  one  of  the  simplest 
things  in  the  world."  And  in  this  belief  he  returned  home. 
But  the  knockings  were  unusually  loud.  The  bed  of  the  chil- 
dren had  been  moved  into  the  room  of  the  parents  to  give 
them  confidence,  and  they  were  told  to  lie  still,  even  if  they 


312  Book  of  Knowledge. 

heard  noises.  But  scarcely  had  Mrs.  Fox  lain  down  when  the 
noises  became  violent,  and  the  children  shouted  out,  "  Here 
they  are  again !  "  They  sat  up  in  bed,  and  Mrs.  Fox  arose  and 
called  her  husband.  He  tried  the  sashes  to  see  if  they  were 
shaken  by  the  wind,  and  as  he  did  so  the  little  lively  Kate  ob- 
served that  the  knockings  in  the  room  exactly  answered  the 
rattle  made  by  her  fatlher  with  the  sash.  Hereupon  she 
snapped  her  fingers  and  exclaimed,  "  Here,  old  Split-foot,  do 
as  I  do !  " 

The  child  had  evidently  heard  it  suggested  that  it  was  the 
devil  that  made  the  noises ;  and  if  so,  he  was  an  obliging  devil, 
for  he  immediately  responded  to  the  challenge.  This  at  once 
attracted  attention.  Kate  Fox  made  the  mere  motion  with 
the  thumb  and  finger,  and  the  raps  regularly  followed  the 
pantomime,  just  as  much  as  when  she  made  the  sound.  She 
found  that,  whatever  the  thing  was,  it  could  see  as  well  as 
hear.  "  Only  look !  Mother,"  she  said,  bringing  together  her 
thumb  and  finger  as  before.     The  rap  followed. 

"  This  at  once,"  said  Mr.  Owen,  "  arrested  the  mother's  at- 
tention," "  Count  ten,"  she  said,  addressing  the  noise.  Ten 
strokes  were  distinctly  given.  "  How  old  is  my  daughter  Mar- 
garet?" Twelve  strokes!  "And  Kate?"  Nine!  "And 
what  can  all  this  mean  ? "  was  Mrs.  Fox's  thoug-ht.  But  the 
next  question  which  she  put  seemed  to  refute  that  idea.  "  How 
many  children  have  I  ? "  she  asked  aloud.  Seven  strokes. 
"  Ah !  "  she  thought,  "  it  can  blunder  sometimes."  And  then 
aloud,  "  Try  again !  "  Still  the  number  of  raps  was  seven.  Of 
a  sudden  a  thought  crossed  Mrs.  Fox's  mind.  "Are  they  all 
alive?"  she  asked.  No  answer.  "How  many  are  living?" 
Six  strokes.  "  How  many  are  dead  ?  "  A  single  stroke ;  she 
had  lost  one  child.  She  then  asked  if  it  was  a  man.  No 
answer.  Was  it  a  spirit?  It  rapped.  She  then  asked  if  the 
neighbors  might  hear  it,  and  a  Mrs.  Redfield  was  called  in, 
who  only  laughed  at  the  idea  of  a  g'host;  but  was  soon  made 
serious  by  its  correcting  her,  too,  about  the  number  of  her 
children,  insisting  on  her  having  one  more  than  she  herself 
counted.  She,  too,  had  lost  one;  and  when  she  reckoned  this 
she  burst  into  tears.     The  spirits  always  reckon  all  the  chil- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  313 

dren,  whether  so-called  dead  or  alive,  as   still  living.     They 
admit  of  no  such  thing  as  death. 

Mr.  Owen,  in  relating  these  facts,  whilst  he  gives  just  credit 
to  Kate  Fox  for  observing  the  intelligence  of  the  rapping  cause, 
does  not  forget  that  such  a  fact  has  frequently  been  observed 
before,  but  had  never  been  followed  out.  It  is  to  Mrs.  Fox, 
rather  than  to  her  daughter,  that  we  are  indebted  for  follow- 
ing it  out. 

The  neighbors  being  called  in  by  the  Foxes  on  this  memor- 
able night  of  March  31,  1848,  grew  to  a  crowd  of  seventy  or 
eighty  persons.  Numbers  of  questions  were  put  to  the  spirit, 
which  replied,  by  knocks,  that  it  was  that  of  a  travelling  trades- 
man who  had  been  murdered  by  the  then  tenant,  John  Bell, 
a  blacksmith,  for  his  property.  That  his  name  was  Charles  B. 
Rosmer,  and  that  his  body  had  been  buried  in  the  cellar  by 
Bell.  The  servant  girl  living  with  the  Bells  at  that  time, 
Lucretia  Pulver,  gave  evidence  that  she  had  been  suddenly 
sent  away  at  the  time  the  peddler  was  there,  and  sent  for  after- 
wards; had  found  the  cellar  floor  had  been  dug  up,  and  that 
Bell  afterwards  repaired  the  floor  in  t^he  night  time.  The 
peddler  had  never  been  seen  afterwards;  and  on  the  floor 
being  dug  up  to  the  depth  of  more  than  five  feet  the  remains 
of  a  human  body  were  found.  The  sensation  produced  by 
the  publication  of  these  events  was  immense.  The  Fox  family 
became  the  centre  of  endless  inquiries.  Margaret,  the  elder 
of  the  two  young  girls,  going  on  a  visit  to  her  married  sister, 
Mrs.  Fish,  at  Rochester,  the  sounds  went  with  her,  as  if  they 
"  had  been  packed  amongst  her  clothes."  Public  meetings 
were  called,  and  committees  were  appointed  to  examine  into 
the  phenomena.  There  were  soon  plenty  of  assertions  that 
the  little  girls,  the  Foxes,  were  imposters,  and  produced  the 
sounds  by  their  knees  and  toe  joints;  even  one  of  their  rela- 
tions, a  Mrs.  Culver,  declared  that  Kate  Fox  had  taught  her 
how  it  was  done.  But  Mrs.  Culver's  statements  would  not 
stand  the  test  of  close  inquiry.  The  little  girls  were  submitted 
to  a  committee  of  ladies,  who  had  them  stripped,  laid  on  pil- 
lows, and  watched  in  such  a  manner  that  they  could  not  pos- 


314  Book  of  Knowledge, 

sibly  make  any  sounds  with  knees  or  toes  without  discovery; 
still  the  sounds  went  on,  on  walls,  doors,  tables,  ceilings,  and 
not  only  where  the  Misses  Fox  were,  but  in  scores  of  other 
places.  The  spirits  having  found  a  mode  of  making  themselves 
heard  and  understood,  seemed  determined  to  be  heard  to  some 
purpose.  They  assumed  the  forms  of  rapping,  but  of  rapping 
under  great  variety  of  phases.  On  the  outside  and  inside  of 
a  door  at  the  same  time,  on  the  floor,  on  the  walls,  ceilings,  on 
tables,  chairs,  in  the  inside  of  cupboards  and  drawers,  on  the 
back  of  the  red-hot  fire  grate,  on  the  pages  of  books  that 
people  were  reading,  on  the  persons  of  the  people  themselves. 
Individuals  were  speedily  discovered  to  be  mediums,  or  per- 
sons througfli  whose  atmosphere  the  spirits  were  enabled  to 
show  their  power.  Where  these  persons  were  present  tables 
and  chairs  and  other  furniture  were  moved  about,  raised  from 
the  ground,  and  in  some  cases  so  powerfully  that  six  full- 
grown  men  have  been  known  to  be  carried  about  a  room  on  a 
table,  the  feet  of  which  did  not  touch  the  floor,  and  which  no 
other  person  touched.  Handbells  rose  up,  flew  about  rooms, 
and  rung,  as  it  appeared,  of  themselves.  People  became 
media  of  all  kinds:  musical,  writing,  drawing,  healing  media. 
That  is,  persons  who  knew  no  music  had  an  involuntary  power 
of  playing  excellent  music  on  a  pianoforte;  other  pianos  played 
of  themselves.  People  unacquainted  with  drawing  drew  striking 
sketches  by  merely  laying  their  hands  on  paper.  Others  wrote 
messages  from  the  spirits,  communicating  intelligence  of  de- 
ceased friends  which  filled  their  friends  with  astonishment. 
Circles  were  everywhere  found  to  receive  their  manifestations; 
and,  so  early  as  1852,  there  were  thirty  thousand  media  in  the 
United  States. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  all  this  went  on  without  op- 
position. On  t)he  contrary,  all  the  old  Protestant  leaven  was 
dreadfully  violated  by  this  extraordinary  demonstration.  The 
press,  the  pulpit,  the  scientific  chair,  were  all  in  agitation 
against  it.  It  was  denounced  as  imposture,  humbug,  blind 
imbecility,  vilest  superstition;  and  by  the  religious,  on  the 
other  hand,  as  downright  demonry  and  sorcery.  No  matter, 
its  wonderful  facts  were  open  to  every  one  who  chose  to  see 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  315 

them;  and  people  believed  their  own  senses  rather  than  the 
wild  satires  of  learned  folly.  The  Rev.  W.  R.  Hayden,  writing 
in  1855,  said :  "  Eight  short  years  ago  not  a  single  individual 
in  the  United  States  was  known  as  a  Spiritualist;  at  this  date, 
2,500,000  at  a  moderate  estimate,  profess  to  have  arrived  at 
their  convictions  of  spiritual  communication  from  personal  ex- 
perience. The  average  rate  of  increase  has  been  300,000  per 
annum."  In  two  more  years  we  find  it  stated  in  the  "  Spirit 
Journals  "  of  America  that  the  number  of  convert  Spiritualists 
were  upwards  of  3,000,000,  a  number  equal  to  the  united  mem- 
bers of  all  the  30,000  American  churches ;  far  outstripping  the 
conquests  of  Lutheranism  or  Methodism  in  their  Augustan 
periods.  Amongst  these  were  statesmen,  members  of  Con- 
gress, foreign  ambassadors,  judges  of  the  higher  courts,  clergy- 
men in  great  numbers,  lawyers,  doctors  and  professors. 
Among  them  were  Judge  Edmonds ;  Dr.  Hare,  the  great  elec- 
trician; a  Protestant  bishop;  Professors  Bush  and  Mapes,  of 
New  York,  and  Channing,  of  Boston. 

A  new  class  of  teachers  sprung  up  amongst  them,  namely, 
trance-speakers,  who  professed  to  speak  from  direct  inspira- 
tion; and  eminent  amongst  these  were  Mrs.  Cora  Hatch,  Mrs. 
Henderson,  and  Miss  Emma  Hardinge,  an  Englishwoman. 
Their  discourses  were  represented  as  in  the  highest  style  of 
eloquence;  that  they  had  many  thousand  hearers  on  Sundays, 
and  that  hundreds  went  away  without  being  able  to  get  en- 
trance, though  the  largest  halls  in  the  largest  cities  were  en- 
gaged for  this  new  class  of  preachers.  The  Hterature  was  al- 
ready become  voluminous,  Mr.  Partridge,  of  New  York,  hav- 
ing alone  published  nearly  a  hundred  volumes.  There  were 
twenty  papers  and  periodicals  devoted  to  the  cause. 

In  proportion  to  the  spread  and  success  of  Spiritualism 
were  the  endeavors  of  the  stereotyped  class  of  minds  to  ex- 
plain it  away.  With  the  stereotyped  religionist,  it  was  simply 
profane  delusion  or  diabolic  agency,  for  some  got  so  far;  with 
the  general  run  of  people  it  was  all  folly  and  nonsense,  infatu- 
ation and  an  epidemic.  With  the  stereotyped  literary  man  it 
was  imagination;  for  it  is  wonderful  what  can  be  ascribed  to 
imagination  when  needful.     With  the  scientific  it  was  either 


3i6  Book  of  Knowledge 

sheer  imposture  or  merely  subjective  impression.  A  Dr. 
Rogers  lit  upon  a  theory  which,  for  a  time,  was  deemed  utterly 
crushing.  Baron  Reichenbach  had  brought  to  the  aid  of  physi- 
ologists his  odyle  force,  a  mere  modification  of  magnetism  or 
electricity,  or  both,  according  to  his  own  assertion,  but  exhibit- 
ing peculiar  powers.  As  he  attributed  to  it  a  great  deal  of  the 
action  of  the  brain,  Dr.  Rogers  at  once  invested  it  with  the 
power  of  originating  a  spurious  sort  of  thinking,  independent 
of  the  mind  of  the  individual.  This  he  termed  reflex  cerebral 
action.  Now,  he  supposed  that  the  odyle  had  the  power  of 
laying  the  mind  to  rest,  of  placing  it  in  a  sort  of  dormant  state, 
and  then  of  throwing  certain  "  mundane  influences  "  on  the 
brain,  which  were  reflected,  as  from  a  mirror,  back  again,  and 
came  out  through  the  organs  of  speech,  through  the  hand  in 
writing  or  drawing,  as  a  kind  of  imagery  or  ghosts  of  thought 
— mere  reflections,  however,  of  these  "  mundane  influences." 
By  a  stretch  of  imagination  he  conceived  the  brain  of  one  man 
in  this  condition  to  come  into  rapport  with  the  brain  of  an- 
other, and  the  two  to  receive  jointly  and  reflect  back,  through 
the  organs  of  the  two,  these  "  mundane  influences,"  as  a  stereo- 
scope unites  two  separate  pictures  into  one.  The  explanatory 
theory  was  far  more  complex  and  unaccountable  than  the 
simple  conception  of  a  spirit  impressing  and  speaking  through 
a  mind  in  full  consciousness.  There  also  wanted  philosophic 
truth  at  the  bottom  of  the  theory;  for  though  it  is  true  that 
the  mind  can  and  does  carry  on  a  sort  of  second  inferior,  or 
habitual  consciousness,  so  that  exterior  observation,  talking, 
acting,  do,  at  the  same  time,  go  on  in  walking,  or  even  speak- 
ing, while  thinking  intensely  on  some  topic.  This  conscious- 
ness is  an  act  of  the  mind,  and  not  merely  of  the  brain.  The 
brain,  as  simply  matter,  can  have  no  action  except  what  it  re- 
ceives from  the  mind,  either  that  of  the  individual  himself,  or 
of  another  mind,  embodied  or  disembodied,  acting  upon  it. 
The  "mundane  influences,"  or  strange,  wandering,  floating 
ideas,  should  come  into  contact  with  a  person's  brain,  willy- 
nilly,  and  there  shape  themselves  into  order  and  intelligible 
ideas,  and  processes  of  ratiocination,  and  statement  of  facts 
known  to  no  one  present,  sometimes  occurring  at  the  moment 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  317 

on  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  sometimes  not  to  take  place  for 
years,  was  a  theory  more  wonderful  and  incredible,  besides 
being  contrary  to  all  our  consciousness  and  experience,  than  a 
hundred  such  theories  as  that  of  simple  spirit  impression.  It 
wanted,  moreover,  to  account  for  this  great  and  persistent 
fact,  that  none  of  these  reflected  "  mundane  influences,"  these 
cooperating  actions  of  mutually  biologized  brains,  these  wan- 
dering manes,  or  hobgoblins  of  unappropriated  thought- 
matter  in  the  air,  ever  shaped  themselves  into  the  declaration 
that  they  were  odyle,  od,  or  any  other  oddity;  but  in  all  cases 
and  places,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  in  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands,  and  millions  of  instances,  that 
they  were  spirits  and  nothing  else.  The  uniformity,  ever  recur- 
ring, ever  existing,  of  these  impressions  and  facts,  was,  by  all 
the  rules  of  logic  and  philosophy,  a  triumphant,  incontestable 
proof  of  their  truth. 

A  Professor  Mahan  followed  Dr.  Rogers  in  this  endeavor 
to  turn  the  human  brain  into  a  monster  Frankenstein,  self- 
acting,  ruthless,  a  shadow  dealing  only  in  shadows;  ghostly, 
yet  without  any  ghost.  Amongst  the  learned  and  scientific 
men  who  rose  preeminently  above  the  prejudices  of  their  caste 
and  dared  to  look  the  phenomena  in  the  face,  and  applied  to 
them  the  true  tests  of  evidence,  were  Professor  Hare  and 
Judge  Edmonds. 

Dr.  Hare  was  the  most  famous  practical  chemist  and  elec- 
trician of  the  United  States.  He  was  born  in  Philadelphia  in 
1 78 1,  and  died  there  May  18,  1858.  At  the  early  age  of  twenty 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Chemical  Society,  and 
there  made  his  first  and  most  important  discovery,  the  oxy- 
hydrogen  blowpipe,  wfhich  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  cele- 
brated Drummond  Light.  By  means  of  this  apparatus  he  was 
the  first  able  to  render  lime,  magnesia,  iridium  and  platinum 
fusible  in  any  considerable  quantity,  and  perhaps  the  first  to 
procure  calcium  in  a  pure  metallic  state,  and  strontium  without 
alloy  of  mercury.  He  first  announced  that  steam  is  not  con- 
densible  when  combined  with  equal  parts  of  the  vapor  of  car- 
bon. He  invented  the  valve-cock  or  gallows  screw,  by  means 
of  which  perfectly  air-tight  communication  is  made  between 


31 8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

cavities  in  separate  pieces  of  apparatus.  He  made  improve- 
ments in  the  voltaic  pile,  which  enabled  tihe  American  chem- 
ists to  apply  with  success  the  intense  powers  of  extended  vol- 
taic couples  long  in  advance  of  the  general  use  of  similar  com- 
binations in  Europe.  In  1816  he  invented  the  calorimeter,  a 
form  of  battery  by  which  a  large  amount  of  heat  is  produced 
with  little  intensity.  '  The  perfection  of  these  forms  of  appa- 
ratus was  acknowledged  by  Faraday  in  1838,  who  adopted  them 
in  preference  to  any  he  could  devise.  (Experimental  Re- 
searches, 1 124,  1 132.)  It  was  with  these  batteries  that  the 
first  appHcation  of  voltaic  electricity  to  blasting  under  water 
was  made.  This  was  in  183 1,  under  the  personal  direction  of 
Dr.  Hare.  In  1818  Dr.  Hare  had  been  appointed  Professor 
of  Chemistry  in  the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  he  occupied  this  post  till  1847  with  distinguished 
ability,  that  is,  for  twenty-nine  years,  when  he  resigned.  The 
*'  American  Cyclopaedia  "  describes  him  as  a  "  frequent  speaker 
at  public  meetings;  and  in  conversation,  especially  when  it 
assumed  an  argumentative  character,  he  discoursed  with  great 
ability.  His  external  features  were  in  harmony  with  the 
strength  and  massiveness  of  his  intellect.  His  frame  was  power- 
ful and  remarkable  for  its  muscular  development,  and  his 
breast  was  large  and  finely  formed."  Judge  Edmonds,  who 
knew  him,  says :  "  He  was  an  excellent  man,  and  all  who  knew 
him  loved  him  for  his  purity,  simplicity  and  candor."  He  adds 
that  his  courage  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  did  not  know 
what  it  was  to  conceal  or  disguise  the  truth. 

Such  was  the  man  who,  when  Spiritualism  forced  itself  on 
his  attention,  received  it,  as  other  scientific  men,  as  a  mere 
delusion  of  the  senses.  He  read  Faraday's  explanation,  and 
thought  it  was  convincing.  A  Mr.  Holcomb,  of  Southwick, 
Massachusetts,  had  repeated  the  experiments  of  Faraday,  and 
wrote  to  him  to  say  that  they  evidently  failed;  that  he  had  him- 
self seen  musical  instruments  played  upon  without  any  hands 
touching  them,  and  heavy  articles  moved  without  any  visible 
cause.  Dr.  Hare  replied  that  he  still  concurred  with  Faraday; 
but,  unlike  Faraday,  when  he  was  informed  of  such  facts,  he 
determined  to  test  these,  too.     He  therefore  introduced  him- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  319 

self  to  a  lady,  a  celebrated  medium,  and  watched  carefully  the 
phenomena.  When  he  saw  tables  and  other  articles  moved, 
and  intelligible  communications  given  through  raps,  he  set  to 
work  and  invented  machinery  to  cut  off  all  direct  communica- 
tion between  the  medium  and  the  results.  He  continued  the 
experiments  for  two  years  with  indefatigable  industry,  ingenu- 
ity and  care.  The  details  of  them  may  be  seen  in  his  work 
on  Spiritualism,  "  Experimental  Investigation  of  Spiritual 
Manifestations."  The  result  was  an  overwhelming  mass  of 
facts,  utterly  demolishing  the  Faraday  theory.  The  demon- 
strations were  mathematically  correct  and  precise;  first,  a 
power  beyond  that  of  human,  or  of  any  known  mundane 
agency;  second,  of  intelligence  not  derived  from  minds  in  the 
body.  Here,  then,  was  one  great  step  gained:  the  phenomena 
were  real,  and  not  reconcilable  to  any  physical  theory.  The 
next  question  to  satisfy  himself  upon  was,  whether  they  pro- 
ceeded from  distinct  disembodied  spirits.  To  decide  this 
point  Dr.  Hare  adopted  this  plan:  He  had  gradually  become 
hirhself  developed  as  a  medium;  and,  sitting  down  at  his  own 
table  he  frequently  received  communications  professedly  from 
his  father  and  a  deceased  sister.  One  day,  on  the  spirit  calling 
herself  his  sister  presenting  herself  at  his  table,  as  manifested 
through  raps,  he  told  her  he  wished  her  to  do  him  a  little 
service.  She  replied  that  she  would,  if  it  were  in  her  power. 
He  was  then  on  a  visit  to  Cape  May,  about  a  hundred  miles 
from  Philadelphia;  and  he  requested  her  to  go  to  Philadelphia 
and  desire  Mrs.  Gourlay,  the  medium,  to  get  Dr.  Gourlay,  her 
husband,  to  call  at  a  certain  bank  and  ask  the  note  clerk  a 
question  as  to  the  passing  through  of  a  bill,  and  bring  him  the 
answer  by  half-past  three.  The  spirit  promised,  and  was  ab- 
sent for  half  an  hour ;  but  had  then  returned  with  the  answer. 
Dr.  Hare  made  no  other  communication  to  Mrs.  Gourlay  on 
the  subject;  but  on  his  return  to  Philadelphia  in  about  a  fort- 
night, he  inquired  of  Mrs.  Gourlay  if  she  had  received  any  mes- 
sage from  him  during  his  absence.  She  said  yes,  and  under 
very  extraordinary  circumstances.  She  was  receiving  a  com- 
munication from  her  spirit  mother  when  the  communication 
suddenly  stopped,  and  his  spirit  messenger  gave  her  the  com- 


320  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mission.  It  was  attended  to  by  Dr.  Gourlay,  and  the  answer 
returned  to  him  by  the  spirit.  Dr.  Hare  then  went  to  the 
bank  and  ascertained  from  the  note  clerk  that  Dr.  Gourlay 
called  on  the  day  named,  asked  a  question  and  received  the 
answer,  which  had  been  returned  to  Dr.  Hare  by  the  spirit 
messenger.  Dr.  Hare  was  thus  assured  that  he  had  had  an 
actual  spirit  messenger  and  was  perfectly  satisfied. 

But  other  doubts  had  to  be  destroyed  in  him  by  Spiritual- 
ism. He  had  all  his  Hfe  been  a  determined  infidel,  disbelieving 
in  God,  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  in  revelation.  He  had 
told  Judge  Edmonds  that  he  had  collated  and  published  offen- 
sive passages  from  the  Bible  to  impeach  the  validity  of  the 
so-called  revelation;  that  he  would  put  down  Spiritualism  also, 
which  claimed  to  be  a  revelation.  Having  convinced  himself, 
however,  of  his  first  error  as  to  spirit,  his  further  inquiries  con- 
vinced him  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  revelation ;  and  a  little 
before  his  death  he  called  on  the  Judge,  and  said  his  sister, 
who  had  been  dead  many  years,  had  come  to  him,  and  so 
thoroughly  identified  herself  to  him  as  to  convince  him  that 
it  was  she,  and  that  she  still  lived.  He  had  reasoned  thus: 
"  If  she  lives,  I  shall  live  also,  and  there  is  an  immortality ;  if 
an  immortality,  there  must  be — there  is  a  God.  But,"  said  he, 
"Judge,  I  do  not  stop  there.  I  believe  in  revelation,  and  in 
a  revelation  through  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  I  am  a  Christian." 
A  grand  answer  to  the  cui  bono. 

In  speaking  of  the  conversion  of  Professor  Hare  to  Chris- 
tianity, Judge  Edmonds  says :  "  In  the  introduction  to  my 
second  volume  on  '  Spiritualism,'  I  published  some  twenty  let- 
ters from  different  persons,  showing  that  the  writers  of  these 
letters  were  but  a  few  of  the  long  list  of  such  conversions." 
Professor  Hare  himself,  in  his  work,  says  that  five  and  twenty 
thousand  persons  had  been  converted  from  atheism  and  deism 
to  Christianity  in  the  United  States  alone  in  his  time.  Dr. 
Gardner,  of  Boston,  goes  farther  in  the  Banner  of  Light, 
and  says :  "  Millions  in  our  country  have,  like  myself,  become 
convinced  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  who  were  skeptical 
before  the  interposition  of  spirit-communion."  What  so-called 
Christian  church  of  to-day  can  produce  such  testimony  to  its 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  321 

spiritual  life?  As  Professor  Hare  determined  to  explode  the 
impositions  of  Spiritualism  by  scientific  inquiry,  so  did  Judge 
Edmonds  by  the  acumen  of  legal  sagacity.  We  have  this  on 
his  own  evidence :  "  I  went  into  the  investigation  originally 
thinking  it  a  deception,  and  intending  to  make  public  my  ex- 
posure of  it.  Having,  from  my  researches,  come  to  a  different 
conclusion,  I  feel  that  the  obligation  to  make  known  the  result 
is  just  as  strong;  therefore  it  is,  mainly,  that  I  give  the  result 
to  the  world.  I  say  mainly  because  there  is  another  considera- 
tion which  influences  me,  and  that  is  the  desire  to  extend  to 
others  a  knowledge  which  I  am  conscious  cannot  but  make 
them  happier  and  better."  The  Judge  was  born  in  Hudson, 
United  States,  in  1799.  He  received  a  classical  education  and 
entered  on  the  study  of  the  law  in  his  eighteenth  year.  He  en- 
tered the  office  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  the  ex-President,  in  1819, 
and  in  1820  commenced  practise  in  his  native  town.  He 
edited  a  newspaper  for  some  time,  and  became  an  officer  in 
the  militia.  By  successive  degrees  he  became  a  member  of 
the  State  Senate,  President  of  the  Senate,  a  commissioner  to 
the  Indian  tribes,  inspector  of  the  prison  at  Sing  Sing,  Circuit 
Judge,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  etc.  On  avowing  his  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Spirit- 
ualism he  was  assailed  by  such  vituperation  and  slander  that 
he  resigned  his  judgeship,  and  before  returning  to  his  practise 
at  the  bar  he  made  a  tour  of  two  months,  boldly  to  lecture  on 
and  spread  his  new  faith.  He  went  from  Boston  in  the  east  to 
the  Mississippi  River  in  the  west,  as  far  south  as  the  Ohio 
River  and  as  far  north  as  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  He  says 
that  in  this  tour  he  found  Spiritualism  so  generally  diffused, 
and  every  Spiritualist,  whatever  his  previous  opinion  on  the 
subject,  so  invariably  an  anti-slavery  man  that  he  declared  on 
his  return  that  Spiritualism  would  prove  the  death-blow  of 
slavery. 

At  the  bar  Judge  Edmonds,  notwithstanding  his  Spiritual- 
ism, speedily  rose  to  a  first-rate  practise ;  and  some  time  ago 
was  elected  by  men  of  all  parties  to  the  office  of  Recorder  of 
New  York,  one  of  the  most  important  and  responsible  posi- 
tions in  the  gift  of  the  people.     This  office  he  respectfully  de- 


322  Book  of  Knowledge. 

dined.  We  may  complete  the  sketch  of  the  worthy  Judge  by 
the  testimony  of  a  very  competent  witness,  the  Hon.  N.  P. 
Talmadge,  late  United  States  Senator  and  Governor  of  Wis- 
consin :  "  I  knew  him  as  a  man  of  finished  classical  education, 
a  profound  lawyer,  astute  in  his  investigations  and  in  analyzing 
testimony,  unsurpassed  in  legal  opinions,  and  in  the  discharge 
of  his  high  judicial  duties;  and,  above  all,  I  knew  him  to  be  a 
man  of  unimpeachable  integrity,  and  the  last  to  be  duped  by  an 
imposture,  or  carried  away  by  an  illusion."  The  Judge  tells 
us  that  he  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  raps,  but  soon  found 
them  appearing  so  far  from  the  mediums,  sometimes  on  the 
tops  of  doors,  and  in  all  parts  of  rooms  where  the  mediums 
had  never  been  before,  and  where  they  could  not  reach;  ap- 
pearing at  all  times,  travelling  in  carriages,  on  railroads,  or  at 
times  when  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  medium  were  all  held. 
"  After  depending  on  my  senses,"  he  says,  "  as  to  the  various 
phases  of  the  phenomena,  I  invoked  the  aid  of  science,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  an  excellent  electrician  and  his  machin- 
ery, and  of  eight  or  ten  intelligent,  educated,  shrewd  persons, 
I  examined  the  matter.  We  pursued  our  inquiries  many  days, 
and  established  to  our  satisfaction  two  things :  First,  that  the 
sounds  were  not  produced  by  the  agency  of  any  person  pres- 
ent or  near  us;  and,  secondly,  that  they  were  not  forthcoming 
at  our  will." 

This  was  acting  in  a  rational,  common-sense  manner,  very 
different  to  the  cowardly  conduct  of  scientific  and  learned  men 
in  England  who,  after  taking  a  glance  at  Spiritualism  and  find- 
ing it  very  shattering  to  their  philosophy,  contented  them- 
selves with  observing  it  at  a  distance.  In  the  course  of  these 
investigations,  the  judge  saw  a  great  variety  of  physical  phe- 
nomena. Among  others,  a  mahogany  table,  having  only  one 
central  leg,  and  with  a  lamp  burning  upon  it,  Hfted  from  the 
floor  at  least  a  foot  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  those  present,  and 
shaken  backwards  and  forwards  as  one  would  shake  a  goblet 
in  his  hand,  and  the  lamp  retain  its  place  though  its  glass  pend- 
ants rang  again.  The  same  table  tipped  up  with  the  lamp 
upon  it  so  far  that  the  lamp  must  have  fallen  off  unless  detained 
there  by  something  else  than  its  own  gravity;  and  a  dinner 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  323 

bell,  taken  trom  a  high  shelf  in  a  closet,  rang  over  the  heads 
of  four  or  five  persons  in  that  closet,  then  rang  around  the 
room  over  the  heads  of  twelve  or  fifteen  persons  in  the  back 
parlor,  was  then  borne  through  the  folding  doors  to  the  farther 
end  of  the  front  parlor  and  then  dropped  on  the  floor.  Of 
such  things  he  says  that  he  saw  hundreds  of  cases,  and  such 
things  are  now  so  familiar  that  they  need  no  citing.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  the  examination  of  the  higher  phenomena — com- 
munications from  deceased  friends,  questions  often  put  only 
mentally  and  answered  only  by  the  alphabet.  He  himself  be- 
came a  writing  and  drawing  medium.  He  found  his  inmost 
thoughts  read  and  stated  by  the  spirits.  He  heard  the  mediums 
use  Greek,  Latin,  Spanish,  and  French  words  when  he  knew 
that  they  were  wholly  ignorant  of  any  language  but  their  own. 
He  heard  conversations  in  foreign  and  unknown  tongues  by 
those  unacquainted  with  either.  He  addressed  a  request 
through  a  public  journal,  The  Banner  of  Light,  for  well 
attested  cases  of  persons  who  spoke  or  wrote  languages  which 
they  had  never  learned,  to  be  given  with  names  of  persons  and 
places,  so  that  they  might  be  scrutinized  and  proved;  and  in 
his  "  Letters  on  Spiritualism,"  he  gives,  besides  other  cases 
under  his  own  observation,  twenty-four  letters  from  different 
reliable  persons,  with  names  and  dates,  detailing  very  extraor- 
dinary instances  of  such  cases.  In  his  "  Spiritual  Tracts," 
Tract  No.  VI,  he  gives  many  other  examples  of  such  cases  in 
well-known  persons,  occurring  in  the  presence  of  himself  and 
others  whose  names  are  given,  and  amongst  those  thus  speak- 
ing, his  own  daughter  and  a  daughter  of  Governor  Tallmadge. 
In  a  word,  Judge  Edmonds  became  fully  convinced,  as  any 
person  must  who  pursues  a  like  honest  and  common-sense 
course  when  the  matter  of  inquiry  is  a  fact.  His  daughter, 
who  for  a  long  time  was  greatly  averse  to  Spiritualism,  became 
by  force  of  over-ruling  evidence  also  convinced;  became  a 
striking  medium,  frequently  speaking  languages  that  she  had 
never  learned;  and  both  father  and  daughter  have  remained 
firm  and  active  promoters  of  the  truth.  The  judge  lost  his 
wife  some  years  ago,  but  soon  received  messages  from  her; 
and  he  records  of  SpirituaHsm  that  "  there  is  in  it  that  which 


324  Book  of  Knowledge. 

comforts  the  mourner  and  binds  up  the  broken  heart;  that 
which  smoothes  the  passage  to  the  grave  and  robs  death  of  its 
terrors;  that  which  enHghtens  the  atheists  and  cannot  but 
reform  the  vicious;  that  which  cheers  and  encourages  the  vir- 
tuous amid  all  trials  and  vicissitudes  of  Hfe;  and  that  which 
demonstrates  to  man  his  duty  and  his  destiny,  leaving  the 
latter  no  longer  vague  and  uncertain." 

Professor  Hare  and  Judge  Edmonds  may  be  taken  as  the 
examples  of  a  large  class  of  the  learned  and  scientific  men  in 
America,  among  them  Governor  Tallmadge,  Professors  Mapes 
and  Gray,  men  of  great  eminence  and  universal  recognition. 
The  Rev.  Adin  Ballou  has  left  his  opinions  in  an  admirable 
little  work  on  the  subject,  and  many  others  have  written 
voluminously  in  its  defense.  Theodore  Parker,  the  celebrated 
Unitarian  minister,  though  not  a  professed  Spirituahst,  bore 
this  testimony  to  the  Spiritualists:  "  This  party  has  an  idea 
wider  and  deeper  than  Catholic  or  Protestant;  namely,  that 
God  still  inspires  men  as  much  as  ever ;  that  He  is  imminent  in 
spirit  and  in  space." 

But  this  was  not  the  case  with  all  the  learned  and  scientific. 
Many  of  them  attacked  Spiritualism  with  an  increasing  acri- 
mony, equal  to  any  such  melancholy  exhibitions  in  England. 

The  religious  world  did  not  omit  to  examine  into  the  claims 
of  Spiritualism.  The  Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  at  a  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  Congregational  Association  of  New  York  and 
Brooklyn,  was  appointed  to  investigate  the  "  Spiritual  Mani- 
festations." It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  he  is  the  pastor 
of  a  regular  orthodox  church.  In  his  elaborate  report,  made 
after  a  most  careful  and  laborious  examination  of  these  phe- 
nomena, he  assumes  the  hypothesis  that  "  spirits  can  only  ob- 
tain access  through  prepared  odylic  conditions ;  that  this  was 
the  mode  of  communication  by  the  ancient  prophets,  and  to 
substitute  any  other  theory  cuts  up  by  the  roots  large  portions 
of  the  Scriptures."  And  he  adds:  "Whenever  odylic  condi- 
tions are  right,  spirits  can  no  more  be  repressed  from  com- 
municating than  water  from  jetting  through  the  crevices  of  a 
dyke."     Mr.  Beecher  concludes  by  saying: 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  325 

"Whatever  physiological  law  accounts  for  odylic  phenom- 
ena in  all  ages  will,  in  the  end,  inevitably  carry  itself  through 
the  Bible,  its  prophecies,  ecstacies,  trances,  theophanies  and 
angelophanies  are  more  or  less  tinged  with  odylic  characteristics. 
The  physiology,  the  anthropology  of  the  Bible  is  highly  odylic, 
and  must  be  studied  as  such.  As  such  it  will  be  found  to  har- 
monize with  the  general  principles  of  human  experience  in  all 
such  matters,  in  all  ages.  If  a  theory  be  adopted  everywhere 
else  but  in  the  Bible,  excluding  spiritual  intervention  by  odylic 
channels  in  toto,  and  accounting  for  everything  physically, 
then  will  the  covers  of  the  Bible  prove  but  pasteboard  barriers. 
Such  a  theory  will  sweep  its  way  through  the  Bible,  and  its 
authority,  its  plenary  inspiration,  will  be  annihilated.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  theory  of  spiritual  intervention  through 
odylic  channels  be  accepted  in  the  Bible,  it  cannot  be  shut  up 
there,  but  must  sweep  its  way  through  the  wide  domain  of 
popular  *  superstitions,'  as  they  are  called,  separating  the  ele- 
ment of  truth  on  which  those  superstitions  are  based,  and 
asserting  its  own  authoritative  supremacy." 

Similar  views  have  been  avowed  by  the  late  Rev.  Henry 
Ward  Beecher,  who  was  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  eloquent 
preachers  of  America.  In  a  sermon  on  Ephesians  i :  13-14,  he 
declared  that  he  had  often  been  in  that  state  which  links  us 
with  another  and  a  higher  Hfe.  "  One  of  these  occasional 
openings  into  the  other  world;  a  state  in  which  the  invisible 
world  is  more  potent  and  real  than  the  visible  world;  and  in 
which  we  see  through  the  body  and  discern  the  substance  of 
eternal  truths." 

The  discussions  betwixt  the  Spiritualists  and  anti-Spirit- 
ualists of  America  have  been  infinite;  and  many  of  the  most 
violent  opponents  have,  of  late  years,  owned  their  entire  con- 
version to  the  truth  they  had  so  energetically  spurned  at. 

Amongst  the  various  forms  of  spiritual  manifestation  in  the 
United  States,  besides  the  physical  ones  already  spoken  of,  the 
more  intellectual  ones  of  spirit-writing,  spirit-drawing,  and  per- 
formance of  music  are  very  remarkable.  In  some  of  these 
cases  writing  and  drawing  were  done  through  the  hands  of 
mediums,  in  others  without  any  human  hand  at  all,  directly  by 


326  Book  of  Knowledge. 

spiritual  agency,  and  in  presence  of  numerous  witnesses  of 
high  character. 

Some  of  the  musical  demonstrations  have  been  of  an  ex- 
traordinary character,  but  are  attested  by  too  many  and  cap- 
able witnesses  to  be  disbeheved.  Amongst  these  are  those  of 
what  are  called  the  "  Davenport  Boys,"  and  of  Koons'  Rooms 
in  Ohio.  The  "  Davenport  Boys,"  children  of  a  family  of  that 
name  at  Buffalo,  were  declared  to  be  the  mediums  of  a  band 
of  musical  spirits,  of  whom  "  King,"  the  spirit  of  an  Indian, 
was  the  leader.  We  have  accounts  of  the  visits  to  these  boys 
by  Mr.  Partridge,  publisher.  New  York;  Dr.  Halleck,  Prof. 
Mapes,  Mr.  Miltenberger  and  Mr.  Taylor.  They  state  that  on 
being  introduced  into  the  room  they  found,  on  a  table  in  the 
centre,  a  guitar,  tambourine,  speaking  trumpet,  bell  and  ropes. 
At  the  far  end  of  the  room  sat  the  two  boy  mediums.  The 
hands  of  these  boys  were  securely  tied,  as  well  as  their  feet, 
and  they  were  tied  to  the  wall.  The  room  was  made  dark, 
and  instantly  the  instruments  flew  about  the  room,  playing 
over  the  hearer's  heads,  and  often  touching  them;  King  fre- 
quently speaking  through  the  trumpet.  On  restoring  the  light, 
the  boys  were  found  fast  tied  as  at  first.  In  one  instance  the 
Cleveland  Plaindealer  says,  the  skeptics  not  only  tied  the  boys 
down  to  the  benches  with  their  hands  behind  them,  but  put 
iron  handcuffs  on  them  and  locked  them.  The  music  pro- 
ceeded all  the  same.  Again,  the  keys  which  locked  the  hand- 
cuffs were  placed  aloft  in  a  box  and  the  spirits  were  desired  to 
reach  them  and  unlock  the  handcuffs.  It  was  done  instantly. 
Mr.  Partridge  asked  the  spirits  why  they  did  not  perform  in 
full  light;  they  replied  because  it  would  injure  the  mediums  by 
drawing  too  much  force  from  them.  Mr.  Partridge,  whilst 
listening  to  the  music,  found  himself  suddenly  tied  hand  and 
foot,  and  with  the  rope  round  his  neck,  in  a  most  intricate 
manner,  and  as  rapidly  untied.  Mr.  Coleman,  at  p.  443  of  the 
Spiritual  Magazine  (Vol.  IL),  gives  us  an  account  of  the  visit 
of  Professor  Mapes  to  the  "  Davenport  Boys,"  which  accords 
with  all  the  others.  Professor  Mapes,  Mr.  Coleman  tells  us,  is 
one  of  the  most  powerful  intellects  of  America,  a  profound 
chemical  philosopher  who,  like  Dr.  Hare  and  Judge  Edmonds, 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  327 

grappled  with  Spiritualism  in  the  hope  of  exposing  an  imposi- 
tion; but  was  driven,  step  by  step,  from  his  original  position 
into  complete  belief.  Like  Hare,  till  forty-five  years  of  age  he 
was  a  materialist. 

Those  singular  people  the  Shakers  or  Shaking  Quakers, 
who  have  eighteen  communities  in  the  United  States,  who 
maintain  the  primitive  order  of  things,  and  have  all  things  in 
common,  are  Spiritualists  to  a  man.  They  claim  their  origin 
from  John  and  Jane  Wardley,  formerly  Friends,  of  Bolton,  in 
Lancashire,  who  joined  those  of  the  Camisards  or  Prophets  of 
the  Cevennes  who  came  to  England.  In  1758  they  were  joined 
by  Ann  Lee,  the  daughter  of  a  blacksmith  of  Manchester,  and 
being  persecuted  by  the  mob,  and  Ann,  who  had  become  the 
head  of  the  Society  and  was  called  Mother  Ann,  being  treated 
as  a  mad  woman  and  put  into  an  asylum  for  several  weeks, 
they  went  to  America  where  it  was  revealed  to  Ann  that  they 
should  increase  and  become  a  people  in  peace  and  freedom. 
They  arrived  in  the  States  in  1774,  but  were  at  first  very  poor 
and  compelled  to  separate  to  obtain  a  livelihood.  But  in  1776 
they  founded  an  establishment  near  Albany.  They  afterwards 
founded  others  at  New  Lebanon,  near  Hudson,  and  at  Hancock. 
They  claim  to  have  greatly  enjoyed  the  apostolic  gifts  of  heal- 
ing, of  prophecy,  speaking  in  unknown  tongues,  and  singing 
new  and  spiritual  songs.  They  have  been  led  by  the  spirit, 
they  aver,  into  a  deep  and  holy  experience,  and  they  have  been 
inspired,  not  only  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  by  other  spiritual  in- 
telligences with  whom  they  have  daily  and  hourly  communion. 
In  1856  one  of  them,  named  F.  W.  Evans,  wrote  to  Robert 
Owen  informing  him  "  that  seven  years  previous  to  the  advent 
of  Spiritualism  the  Shakers  had  predicted  its  rise  and  progress 
precisely  as  they  have  occurred,  and  adding  that  the  Shaker 
order  is  the  great  medium  betwixt  this  world  and  the  world 
of  spirits."  He  continued,  "  Friend  Robert,  it  appears  that  you 
are  now  a  Spiritualist.  Spiritualism  originated  amongst  the 
Shakers  of  America.  It  was  also  to  and  amongst  them  a  few 
years  ago  that  the  avenues  to  the  spirit-world  were  first 
opened ;  when  for  seven  years  in  succession  a  revival  continued 


328  Book  of  Knowledge. 

in  operation  among  that  people,  during  which  period  hundreds 
of  spiritual  mediums  were  developed  throughout  the  eighteen 
societies.  In  truth  all  the  members  in  a  greater  or  less  degree 
were  mediums.  So  that  physical  manifestations,  visions, 
revelations,  prophecies  and  gifts  of  various  kinds  of  which 
voluminous  records  are  kept,  and  indeed,  *  divers  operations, 
but  all  of  the  same  spirit,'  were  as  common  as  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia." He  says  that  these  spiritual  manifestations  were  of 
three  distinct  degrees.  The  first  being  for  the  complete  con- 
vincement  of  the  junior  members ;  the  second  for  the  work  of 
judgment,  the  judging  and  purifying  of  the  whole  people  by 
spiritual  agency,  and  the  third,  for  the  ministration  of  millennial 
truths  to  various  nations,  kindreds,  tribes  and  people  in  the 
spirit-world  who  were  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteous- 
ness. And  that  Spiritualism  in  its  outward  progress  will  go 
through  the  same  three  degrees  in  the  United  States.  Spiritual 
manifestations,  he  maintained,  were  God's  answer  to  the  hearts' 
cry  of  earnest  men  and  women  seeking  facts,  not  words,  in 
attestation  of  the  "  Word  of  Life." 

Mormonism  must  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  disorderly 
phases  of  American  Spiritualism.  To  those  who  have  read  both 
sides  on  the  subject  and  history  of  Mormonism  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  thing  has  originated  in  real  spiritual 
agency,  but  not  of  the  purest  kind.  The  Mormons,  one  and 
all,  claim  a  miraculous  origin  for  it.  They  declare  that  the 
gifts  of  prophecy,  of  heaHng,  of  seeing  visions,  are  amongst 
them;  and  they  record  abundant  instances  of  curing  the  most 
violent  complaints  by  the  prayers  of  the  church  and  the  laying 
on  of  hands.  Orson  Pratt,  one  of  their  great  oracles,  says : 
*'  We  believe  that  wherever  the  people  enjoy  the  religion  of 
the  New  Testament,  there  they  enjoy  visions,  revelations,  the 
ministry  of  angels,  etc.  And  that  wherever  these  blessings 
cease  to  be  enjoyed,  there  they  also  cease  to  enjoy  the  religion 
of  the  New  Testament."  He  says,  "  New  revelation  is  the 
very  life  and  soul  of  the  religion  of  heaven;  it  is  indispensably 
necessary  for  the  calling  of  all  officers  in  the  church.  Without 
it  the  officers  of  the  church  can  never  be  instructed  in  the  vari- 
.ous  duties  of  their  calling.     Where  the  spirit  of  revelation  does 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  329 

not  exist,  the  church  cannot  be  comforted  and  taught  in  all 
wisdom  and  knowledge,  cannot  be  properly  reproved  and 
chastened  according  to  the  mind  of  God,  cannot  obtain  prom- 
ises for  themselves,  but  are  dependent  upon  the  promises  made 
through  the  ancients.  Without  new  revelation  the  people  are 
like  a  blind  man  groping  his  way  in  total  darkness,  not  know- 
ing the  dangers  that  beset  his  path.  Without  prophets  and 
revelators  darkness  hangs  over  the  future;  no  city,  people  or 
nation  understand  what  awaits  them.  Without  new  revelation, 
no  people  know  of  the  approaching  earthquake,  or  the  deadly 
plague,  of  the  terrible  war,  of  the  withering  famine,  and  the 
fearful  judgments  of  the  Almighty  which  hang  over  their  de- 
voted heads.  When  the  voices  of  living  prophets  and  apostles 
are  no  longer  heard  in  the  land  there  is  an  end  of  perfecting 
and  edifying  the  saints;  there  is  a  speedy  end  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry;  there  is  an  end  to  the  obtaining  of  that  knowl- 
edge so  necessary  to  eternal  life;  there  is  an  end  to  all  that  is 
great,  and  grand  and  glorious  pertaining  to  the  religion  of 
heaven;  there  is  an  end  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  on  earth;  there  is  an  end  to  salvation  in  the  celestial 
kingdom." 

Whatever  of  error  and  folly  there  may  be  in  Mormonism, 
this  at  least  is  genuine  and  gospel  truth.  It  is  only  what  John 
Wesley  had  said  before  in  fewer  words :  **  The  real  cause  why 
the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  no  longer  to  be  found  in  the 
Christian  Church  is  because  the  Christians  are  turned  heathen 
again  and  have  only  a  dead  form  left."  Their  organ,  the  Mil- 
lennial Star,  says,  "  The  Latter-Day  Saints  know  that  the  angels 
do  here  converse  with  men.  They  know  that  the  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  are  manifested  in  these  days  by  dreams,  visions, 
revelating  tongues,  prophecies,  miracles,  healings."  Orson 
Pratt  says,  and  a  tract  pubUshed  by  the  Latter-Day  Church, 
called  the  "  Book  of  Mormon  Confirmed  by  Miracles,"  gives 
numerous  proofs  of  the  truth  of  his  assertion  that  "  nearly 
every  branch  of  the  church  has  been  blessed  by  miraculous 
signs  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  which  they  have  been 
confirmed  and  know  of  a  surety  that  this  is  the  Church  of 
Christ.    They  know  that  the  blind  see,  the   lame  walk,  the 


330  Book  of  Knowledge. 

deaf  hear,  the  dumb  speak,  that  lepers  are  cleansed,  that  bones 
are  set,  that  the  cholera  is  rebuked,  and  that  the  most  virulent 
diseases  give  way  through  faith  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  the 
power  of  His  gospel."  He  adds,  "  that  these  things  are  not 
done  in  a  corner;  they  are  taking  place  every  day,  and  before 
tens  of  thousands  of  witnesses." 

Well,  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  against  this  unless  we 
could  prove  it  to  be  utterly  false.  The  doctrine  is  a  true  doc- 
trine. Every  church  except  the  Protestant  church  not  only 
asserts  the  same  but  claims  to  have  ample  evidence  of  it.  The 
ancient  church,  the  Roman,  the  Greek,  the  Waldenses,  the 
Camisards,  the  early  Friends,  Luther  himself,  and  many  indi- 
viduals even  amongst  Protestants.  Greatrakes  was  a  great 
healer  in  the  apostolic  fashion.  Madame  Saint-Amour,  who 
had  been  educated  in  Romanism  but  who  became  a  Sweden- 
borgian,  discovered  in  1826  that  she  possessed  the  same  power 
of  healing  diseases  as  Gassner  and  Greatrakes,  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  She  was  the  wife  of  Major  Saint- 
Amour,  and  herself  of  high  Dutch  connection ;  her  uncle.  Gen- 
eral Drury,  being  commander  at  The  Hague  under  the  Stadt- 
holdership  and  under  Louis  Bonaparte,  and  her  cousin  M.  Van 
Mann,  Minister  of  Justice  in  the  Netherlands.  Madame  Saint- 
Amour,  however,  made  no  hesitation  as  to  whether  she  should 
injure  her  worldly  position.  She  went  to  Nantes  in  Septem- 
ber, 1828,  and  began  her  benevolent  mission.  It  was  soon 
rumored  that  a  lady  had  arrived  from  Paris  who  cured  sick- 
ness and  chronic  ailments  by  prayer.  The  whole  place  was 
thrown  into  a  state  of  excitement.  Some  declared  that  the 
apostolic  times  were  come  again;  others  that  these  miracles 
originated  in  some  occult  art  rather  than  in  religion.  The 
sick  who  were  cured  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  those  who  yet 
awaited  their  turn.  A  cripple,  who  had  left  his  crutches  with 
Madame  Saint-Amour,  hastened  to  prostrate  himself  at  the 
shrine  of  St.  Semillian,  exclaiming,  "  She  cures  everything !  " 
A  child,  carried  to  her  in  his  sister's  arms,  returned  home  on 
foot  followed  by  a  crowd  uttering  their  astonishment  at  the 
miracle.  Passengers  were  stopped  by  the  wondering  crowd 
before  Madame  Saint-Amour's  house;  there  was  much  ques- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  331 

tioning,  and  replies  were  given  that  struck  the  hearers  with 
amazement.  Throngs  increased;  the  street  was  completely 
blocked  so  that  carriages  could  not  pass.  The  very  steps  up 
to  her  door  were  crowded  with  sick  and  maimed  seeking  help. 
From  six  in  the  morning  till  night  the  invalids  remained  wait- 
ing their  turn.  Numbers  waited  all  night  to  be  among  the 
earliest  admitted  next  morning.  Wherever  she  went,  they 
stood  in  her  way  as  if  nailed  to  the  ground;  they  were  con- 
fident that  if  they  could  but  touch  her  dress  they  could  be 
cured.  Many  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  she  was  the 
Virgin  Mary  herself  in  disguise. 

M.  Richer,  the  celebrated  editor  and  commentator  on 
Swedenborg,  went  to  judge  for  himself.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  Swedenborgians  are  violently  hostile  to  any  one  possessing 
supernatural  gifts  but  Swedenborg  himself.  They  seem  to 
think  that  he  had  a  patent  for  miracle,  and  that  no  one  must 
invade  it  to  the  end  of  the  world ;  but  M.  Richer  was  astonished 
at  what  he  saw  and  honestly  confessed  it.  He  heard  Madame 
Saint-Amour  saying  to  the  crowd  of  afflicted  applicants,  "  Do 
you  beheve  in  God?  Do  you  believe  that  God,  who  created 
heaven  and  earth,  has  power  to  heal  you  ?  "  And  when  they 
confessed  their  belief,  she  prayed  that  they  might  be  healed, 
and  laid  her  hands  on  them.  He  saw  with  amaze  the  wonders 
which  ensued;  saw  her  melted  into  tears  of  joy  and  gratitude 
to  God  in  the  midst  of  the  miracles  that  He  wrought  by  her 
hands ;  saw  her  witness  with  rapture  the  change  from  pain  and 
suffering  in  her  patients  to  ease  and  strength;  saw  her  cast 
herself  on  her  knees  in  speechless  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all 
Good  amid  the  restored  invalids  around  her. 

For  three  days  the  excitement  continued  to  increase.  From 
all  sides  arrived  the  sick,  full  of  astonishment  at  the  relations 
which  they  heard.  They  came  from  Tours,  Saumur,  Roche- 
fort,  Angers,  Rennes,  from  the  Maine  and  Loire,  from  Vendee, 
Morbihan  and  other  distant  places.  It  may  safely  be  asserted 
that  not  a  place  in  the  Lower  Department  of  the  Loire  but 
sent  some  patient  to  the  capital  of  the  district.  The  wealthy 
were  struggling  to  get  Madame  Saint-Amour  to  lionize  her  in 
their  salons;  and  to   escape   for  a  while   from  the   incessant 


33*  Book  of  Knowledge. 

crush  of  eager  people  around  her  she  accepted  invitations  to 
distant  quarters.  But  everywhere  augmenting  crowds  poured 
after  her,  and  everywhere  in  her  way  you  saw  sick  and  curious 
people  who.  prayed  the  favor  of  addressing  her.  It  was  in  vain 
that  at  night  she  endeavored  to  persuade  the  throngs  to  dis- 
perse ;  they  would  remain  in  order  to  secure  her  services  in  the 
morning,  and  you  might  see  her  hands  stretched  from  the 
windows  to  call  down  blessings  on  the  immovable  crowd.  As 
she  endeavored  to  drive  along  she  administered  cures  from  the 
windows  of  her  carriage.  The  streets  and  gateways  of  the 
houses  she  visited  were  speedily  besieged,  and  four  sentinels  at 
every  door  were  not  sufficient  to  keep  back  the  people.  Every 
vehicle  in  the  city  on  hire  was  taken  to  carry  applicants  to  her ; 
crowds  of  workmen  abandoned  their  employments  to  get  a 
sight  of  her.  In  every  circle  she  and  her  cures  were  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation;  at  the  exchange,  in  the  college,  in  the 
salons,  in  the  inns  and  in  private  houses ;  and  it  was  declared 
that  no  such  things  had  ever  before  been  heard  of  except  in 
books. 

But  all  at  once  it  was  discovered  by  the  Church  that 
Madame  Saint-Amour  was  a  heretic  Swedenborgian !  The 
priests  were  instantly  in  arms;  a  meeting  of  the  clergy  was 
called  by  the  Archbishop,  and  as  the  monks  of  St.  Stephen 
had  declared  to  Columbus  that  there  was  no  such  continent  as 
America,  the  clergy  of  Nantes  declared  that  these  miracles 
were  not  the  work  of  Christ  but  of  witchcraft.  The  crowds 
were  told  that  if  God  sent  such  miracles  it  would  be  through  a 
priest  and  not  through  a  woman.  The  cry  of  heresy  and 
devilry  was  raised  against  her,  and  Madame  Saint-Armour  was 
speedily  compelled  to  escape  from  the  city  and  district. 

Madame  Ehrenborg,  a  Swedish  lady  who  has  pubHshed 
three  very  interesting  volumes  of  her  travels  on  the  continent, 
when  at  Nantes  since  these  events  took  place,  was  shown  the 
portrait  of  Madame  Saint-Amour,  and  was  assured  by  various 
persons  of  highest  character  in  Nantes  that  the  narrative  of 
these  extraordinary  cures  was  perfectly  correct.  Madame 
Saint-Amour  is  said  to  have  gone  to  join  her  son  in  Algiers. 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  S33 

Amongst  the  innumerable  mediums  who  have  arisen  in 
America,  besides  those  trance  and  lecture  mediums  already  re- 
ferred to,  the  three  most  remarkable  are  Daniel  D.  Home, 
Andrew  Jackson  Davis  and  Thomas  L.  Harris.  All  these  are 
perfectly  distinct  in  the  character  of  their  mediumship,  and  in 
the  field  of  their  spiritual  missions.  Mr.  Home  is  an  exhibitor 
of  what  are  called  physical  phenomena,  but  which  are  spiritual 
agencies  acting  on  matter.  Through  him  raps  have  been  given 
and  communications  made  from  deceased  friends ;  tables  have 
been  raised  into  the  air,  or  have  moved  themselves,  as  it  were, 
from  one  place  to  another  in  the  apartment ;  his  hand  has  been 
seized  by  spirit  influence  and  rapid  communications  written  out 
of  a  surprising  character  to  those  to  whom  they  were  ad- 
dressed. Spirit  hands  have  appeared  which  have  been  seen, 
felt  and  recognized  frequently  by  persons  present  or  those  of 
deceased  friends;  bells  have  been  lifted  up  and  rung  about  a 
room;  persons  in  their  chairs  have  been  suddenly  transported 
from  one  end  of  a  room  to  another;  he  himself  has  been  fre- 
quently lifted  up  and  carried,  floating  as  it  were,  through  a 
room  near  the  ceiling.  Numbers  of  such  facts  are  recorded  in 
the  British  Spiritual  Telegraph  and  the  Spiritual  Magazine  as 
well  as  in  the  Cornhill  Magazine,  with  the  names  and  testimonies 
of  well-known  witnesses.  Such  manifestations  have  been  made 
in  very  many  of  the  houses  of  the  leading  nobility,  cabinet  min- 
isters and  gentry  of  England,  in  the  palaces  of  nearly  half  the 
principal  monarchs  of  Europe.  I  myself  have  been  witness 
to  many  of  these  phenomena  through  Mr.  Home.  The  fact 
that  the  English  press  has  made  a  great  outcry  against  the 
truth  of  these  statements  is  no  proof  that  they  did  not  take 
place,  but  only  of  the  astounding  ignorance  of  the  press  that 
all  history  abounds  with  such  facts ;  that  in  all  times  they  have 
been  familiar  phenomena  attested  by  the  most  celebrated  men ; 
and  that  for  the  last  fifteen  years  they  have  been  so  common 
in  America  that  they  have  convinced  three  millions  of  people. 
In  America  all  these  phenomena  have  displayed  themselves  in 
far  greater  force  than  here. 

Mr.  Home's  mission  seems  to  have  been  to  go  forth  and 
do  the  preliminary  work  of  restoring  faith  by  the  performance 


334  Book  of  Knowledge, 

of  these  outward  marvels.  Till  that  foundation  was  laid  there 
could  be  no  faith  in  higher  or  more  psychical  efforts.  He  was 
the  herald  of  more  interior  truths. 

It  is  not  my  business  here  to  detail  the  long  and  well-sub- 
stantiated series  of  the  supernatural  circumstances  attending 
Mr.  Home's  career.  They  would  form  a  volume  of  themselves, 
and  I  hear  that  it  is  Mr.  Home's  intention  himself  to  record 
them.  My  concern  is  only  to  note  his  place  in  the  history  of 
Spiritualism  as  the  herald  of  a  coming  restoration  of  faith  in 
the  indissoluble  union  of  the  natural  and  supernatural,  of  dis- 
embodied and  embodied  spirits  which  Protestantism  in  what 
the  Rev.  John  Henry  Newman  calls  its  "  dreary  development  " 
has  for  a  time  destroyed.  Mr.  Home  has  not  assumed  any 
other  character  than  the  foundation  layer.  He  has  not  pre- 
tended to  enunciation  of  merely  spiritual  views.  He  has  not 
come  forth  as  the  prophet,  but  only  as  the  seer.  And  his 
work  has  not  been  the  less  important  or  the  less  valuable. 
Without  the  foundation  stone  there  can  be  no  building.  With- 
out faith  promulgation  of  sublime  and  spiritual  truths  would 
fall  dead  upon  dead  souls.  They  would  be  like  the  rays  of  the 
sun  not  falling  on  the  solid  and  respondent  earth,  but  on  the 
barren  vacuity.  In  vain  would  Jacob's  ladder  have  invited  the 
angels  who  issue  from  temporary  bodies  to  climb  it  to  heaven 
had  not  its  foot  been  set  upon  the  earth.  Men  sunk  in  their 
spiritual  condition  to  the  earth  must  have  manifestations  of  the 
earth  first  to  awake  them.  For  this  reason  the  much  despised 
and  ridiculed  physical  manifestations  have  come  first  as  the 
only  ones  adapted  to  the  degraded  physical  status  of  men, 
many  of  them  at  the  same  time  imagining  themselves  peculiarly 
enlightened  and  refined.  It  was  truly  said  by  Abraham  to 
Dives  that  it  was  useless  sending  him  to  his  brethren  because 
they  doubtless  were  in  a  condition  in  which  one  rising  from 
the  dead  would  have  been  to  them  no  fitting  or  effective  mes- 
sage. A  wooden  chair  dancing,  or  a  money  table  lifting  itself 
up  before  their  sordid  eyes  would  have  spoken  much  more  in- 
telHgible  things. 

The  office  of  Mr.  Home  has  been  the  first  great  and  neces- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  335 

sary  office  of  awakement;  as  the  watchman  crying  the  approach- 
ing hour  of  the  morning  of  recompleted  man  he  has  done  much, 
and  there  remains  much  yet  to  do. 

But  perhaps  nothing  connected  with  Mr.  Home  has  given 
more  profound  evidence  of  the  truth  and  tendencies  of  the  con- 
soHng  and  divine  effects  of  Spiritualism  than  the  circumstances 
attending  the  decease  of  his  most  interesting  wife.  Mrs.  Home, 
who  was  a  Russian  lady  of  high  family,  died  at  the  age  of  only 
twenty-two.  From  the  moment  that  it  was  announced  to  her 
that  her  complaint,  consumption,  was  past  cure,  she  exhibited 
no  alarm  or  regret  at  the  prospect  of  death.  She  had  learned, 
by  conviction  of  the  truth  of  her  husband,  that  death  was  only 
apparent.  She  had  long  been  in  daily  communication  with  the 
spirits  of  her  departed  friends ;  and  the  life  about  to  open  before 
her  was  certain  and  beautiful  beyond  conception.  Moreover, 
the  Greek  Church,  in  which  she  had  been  educated,  has  always 
recognized  the  Saviour  less  as  the  Crucified  than  as  the  Arisen, 
the  triumphant  over  suffering  and  death;  and  her  faith  and 
feeling  were  in  glad  accordance  with  it.  The  Bishop  of  Peri- 
geux,  in  France,  near  which  place  s'he  died,  and  who  admin- 
istered to  her  the  last  sacrament,  remarked  that  though  he  had 
been  present  at  many  a  death-bed  for  heaven  he  had  never  seen 
one  equal  to  hers.  Can  the  end  of  any  genuine  Christian  Spirit- 
ualist be  otherwise? 

Andrew  Jackson  Davis  was  born  in  1826,  in  Blooming 
Grove,  Orange  County,  New  York  State.  He  was  one  of  six 
children  of  a  very  poor  village  weaver  and  cobbler.  Both  of 
his  parents  were  illiterate,  but  from  his  mother  he  seems  to  have 
inherited  the  clairvoyant  faculty.  He  received  only  five  months' 
schooling  at  the  village  school,  and  it  was  found  impossible  to 
teach  him  anything  there.  Afterwards  he  was  as  a  boy  em- 
ployed successively  in  a  flour-mill,  a  shop  and  on  a  farm.  Dur- 
ing his  solitary  hours  in  the  fields  he  saw  visions  and  heard 
voices.  His  parents  removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  and  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  a  shoemaker.  He  then  became  the  clairvoyant  of 
a  mesmeric  lecturer  and  in  this  situation  excited  wonder  by 
the  revelations  he  made  and  acquired  the  name  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie seer.    This  was  in  1843,  five  years  before  the  Rochester 


336  Book  of  Knowledge. 

knockings  were  heard.  In  this  clairvoyant  state  Davis  not  only 
declared  that  the  power  of  seeing  into  and  healing  diseases  was 
given,  but  he  prescribed  for  scores  who  came  most  successfully, 
stating  their  symptoms  in  a  manner  that  surprised  the  patients 
and  equally  so  several  accomplished  physicians  who  attended 
the  seances.  In  his  "  Harmonia  "  he  has  described  the  wonder- 
ful scenes  opened  up  to  him  in  this  condition.  His  clairvoyance 
was  advanced  to  clairscience.  He  beheld  all  the  essential 
nature  of  things;  saw  the  interior  of  men  and  animals  as  per- 
fectly as  their  exterior,  and  described  them  in  language  so  cor- 
rect that  the  most  able  technologists  could  not  surpass  him.  He 
pointed  out  the  proper  remedies  for  all  the  complaints,  and  the 
shops  where  they  were  to  be  obtained.  The  life  of  all  nature 
appeared  laid  before  him ;  and  he  saw  the  metals  in  the  earth 
like  living  flames,  and  lights  and  flames  emanating  from  every 
portion  of  the  living  structure  of  men  and  animals.  The  most 
distant  regions  and  their  various  productions  were  present  be- 
fore him.  Everything  appeared  to  him,  as  to  all  clairvoyants, 
clothed  with  its  peculiar  atmosphere ;  not  only  living  forms,  but 
every  grain  of  salt  or  sand,  the  minutest  bones  and  tendrils, 
mineral  and  earthy  substances  had  this  colored  atmosphere.  As 
George  Fox  and  Swedenborg  before  him,  he  declared  that  the 
whole  of  creation  was  opened  to  him ;  that  he  saw  the  names  of 
all  things  in  their  natures  as  Adam  saw  them.  He  saw  how 
every  animal  represented  some  one  or  more  qualities  of  men 
and  their  vices  or  virtues,  just  as  Fox  and  Swedenborg  had 
asserted;  and  he  gave  even  Greek  and  Latin  names  to  things, 
whilst  in  his  ordinary  state  he  could  not  even  write  or  speak 
decent  English.  These  facts  are  attested  by  eminent  physicians 
whose  names  have  been  published  by  themselves. 

In  this  state  he  had  his  vision  of  "  The  Magic  Staflf,"  as  it 
were,  a  rod  of  gold  which  he  was  told  to  take,  to  try  and  walk 
with,  leaning  on  it  and  believing  on  it;  and  on  the  staflf  was 
written  his  life's  motto,  "  Under  all  circumstances  keep  an  even 
mind."     On  this  staflf,  he  tells  us,  he  has  continued  to  lean. 

In  1845  he  delivered  157  lectures  in  New  York  whilst  in 
the  clairvoyant  state.  These  went  to  give  a  new  Philosophy 
of  the  Universe  and  were  published  in  a  volume  called  "  Nat- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  337 

ure's  Divine  Revelations,"  amounting  to  800  pages.  Edgar 
A.  Poe  and  Professor  Bush  were  amongst  his  wondering 
hearers,  and  the  latter  has  attested  that  those  parts  of  the 
lectures  which  he  heard  were  faithfully  transferred  to  the  book. 
Smce  then  Mr.  Davis  has  been  a  very  voluminous  writer  as  his 
**  Great  Harmonia,"  in  five  volumes,  "  The  Philosophy  of 
Special  Providence,"  "The  Philosophy  of  Spiritual  Intercourse," 
"The  Penetralia,"  "The  Present  Age  and  Inner  Life,"  and 
"  The  Magic  Staff "  testify.  Besides  this  he  edits  the  Herald 
of  Progress.  Mr.  Coleman's  account  of  him  represents  him 
as  a  man  of  substantial  outward  as  well  as  inward  development. 
"  I  was,"  he  says,  "  agreeably  surprised  to  find  him  bright, 
active  and  solidly  intelligent,  with  nothing  of  the  dreamy  mystic 
about  him.  His  personal  appearance  is  extremely  prepossess- 
ing, with  a  massive  and  most  intellectually  formed  forehead, 
prominent  nose,  long  black  hair  and  profusely  flowing  beard. 
He  told  Mr.  Coleman  that  he  spends  one-half  of  his  time  in  his 
garden  the  other  half  in  his  study,  and  visits  his  office  in  the 
city  one  day  in  the  week,  when  he  sees  all  sorts  of  inquirers 
and  still  prescribes  spiritually  and  gratuitously. 

We  find  that  Mr.  Harris,  wonderfully  attracted  by  the 
"  Divine  Revelations  of  Nature,"  of  Davis,  became  one  of  his 
most  enthusiastic  disciples.  But  that  was  not  the  place  where  he 
was  to  stay ;  the  Christian  must  develop  out  of  the  pagan  cycle. 
In  his  early  spiritual  inspirations  Harris  became  a  poetic 
medium  and  dictated  whole  epics  under  the  supposed  influence 
of  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats,  Pollok,  etc.  Whoever  were  the 
poetic  spirits  who  infused  those  poems,  they  are  specimens  of 
poetry  of  the  highest  order.  Speaking  of  the  "  Lyric  of  the 
Golden  Age,"  Mr.  Brittan,  the  publisher,  says,  and  not  more 
eulogistically  than  justly,  "  This  lyric  has  scarcely  less  than 
Miltonic  grandeur.  The  descriptive  parts  are  wonderful  as 
illustrations  of  the  compass  of  our  language.  It  would  severely 
tax  the  capabilities  of  the  most  gifted  mind  to  coin  its  phrase- 
ology alone,  which,  however,  is  neither  strained  nor  far-fetched, 
but  natural,  flowing  and  melodious  as  a  valley  brook." 

But  the    instantaneous    manner    in   which  these  poems — a 


338  •  Book  of  Knowledge. 

whole  volume  of  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  pages  at  a  time 
— were  thrown  off,  is  still  more  amazing  than  their  high  merit 
itself.  Mr.  Brittan  tells  us  that  the  "  Lyrics  of  the  Golden 
Age  "  (381  pages)  was  dictated  by  Harris  and  written  down  by 
Mr.  Brittan  in  ninety-four  hours.  In  a  similar  manner  was 
produced  the  "  Lyric  of  the  Morning  Land,"  and  other  volumes. 
In  the  production  of  poetry  we  know  no  similar  achievements. 
But  the  progress  of  Harris  into  an  inspirational  oratory  is  still 
more  surprising.  He  claims,  by  opening  up  his  interior  being, 
to  receive  influx  of  divine  intuition  in  such  abundance  and  power 
as  to  throw  off  under  its  influence  the  most  astonishing  strains 
of  eloquence.  This  receptive  and  communicative  power  he  at- 
tributes to  an  internal  spiritual  breathing  corresponding  to  the 
outer  natural  breathing.  As  the  bodily  lungs  imbibe  and  respire 
air,  so,  he  contends,  the  spiritual  lungs  inspire  and  respire  the 
divine  aura,  refluent  with  the  hig'hest  thought  and  purest  senti- 
ment, and  that  without  any  labor  or  trial  of  brain.  Swedenborg 
teaches  the  same  mystery,  and  Catholics  also  of  devotional  tem- 
perament. 

Gorres,  in  his  "  Christliche  Mystik,"  asserts  that  this  "  vital 
breathing,  however,  descends  into  the  human  being  through  the 
crown  of  the  head,  and  reissues  by  that,  and  is  in  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  rays  and  circlets  of  light  seen  on  the  heads  of 
saints."  (Vol.  II,  p.  330,  "  Inere  Begrundung  der  Lichter- 
scheinungen.")  Whatever  be  the  process,  those  who  heard  Mr. 
Harris  during  his  visit  to  this  country  in  i860  had  abundant 
proofs  of  the  magnificent  results.  His  extempore  sermons 
were  the  only  perfect  realizations  of  my  conceptions  of  elo- 
quence; at  once  full,  unforced,  outgushing,  unstinted  and  ab- 
sorbing. They  were  triumphant  embodiments  of  sublime 
poetry  and  a  stern,  unsparing,  yet  loving  apd  burning  theology. 
Never  since  the  days  of  Fox  were  the  disguises  of  modern 
society  so  unflinchingly  rent  away,  and  the  awful  distance  be- 
twixt real  Christianity  and  its  present  counterfeit  made  so 
startlingly  apparent.  That  the  preacher  was  also  the  prophet 
was  most  clearly  proclaimed  by  his  suddenly  hastening  home, 
declaring  that  it  was  revealed  to  him  that  "  the  nethermost  hells 
were  let  loose  in  America."    This  was  before  the  public  breach 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  339 

between  North  and  South  had  taken  place ;  but  it  soon  followed, 
only  too  deeply  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  spiritual  in- 
timation. 

In  these  three  typal  mediums  have  been  designated  the  three 
stages  of  Spiritualism :  the  patriarchal  or  preparatory,  the 
pagan  and  the  Christian.  In  the  general  character  of  American 
Spiritualism  has  been  displayed,  in  equally  unmistakable  feat- 
ures, the  previous  social  and  spiritual  condition  of  that  country. 
Those  who  thought  that  a  dispensation  from  the  invisible  world 
should  be  all  of  a  divine  nature  have  been  horrified  to  perceive 
that  it  partook  largely  of  an  opposite  nature,  the  demoniac. 
That  was  an  expectation  out  of  nature  itself,  contrary  to  the 
world's  history,  in  which  the  evil  has  ever  come  in  hot  haste  on 
the  heels  of  the  good.  Never,  in  any  age  of  the  world,  did 
demon  activity  abound  so  much  as  at  the  Christian  advent.  It 
is  a  trite  truism  that  where  God  pours  out  his  Spirit  most  abun- 
dantly, it  is  next  abundantly  met  by  the  blasts  of  hell.  American 
Spiritualism,  therefore,  though  it  has  shown  divine  features  and 
produced  deep  and  serious  Christian  effects,  bringing  back  large 
numbers  from  atheism  and  deism  to  Christianity,  has  also 
largely  shown  features  of  a  lower  and  more  repulsive  kind.  And 
this  must  have  inevitably  have  resulted  from  the  condition  of 
the  churches  there  previous  to  this  avatura,  as  described  by 
both  American  and  European  travellers.  The  curse  of  slavery 
had  entered  into  the  deepest  vitals  of  the  moral  life  of  the 
country.  North  as  well  as  South. 

In  such  a  state  of  society,  of  moral  cowardice  and  glaring 
hypocrisy,  the  spirits  of  evil  were  certain  to  seize  on  these  rotten 
parts  and  revel  in  them.  Hence,  on  the  outburst  of  Spiritualism, 
such  members,  sunk  in  the  lowest  depths  of  spiritual  corrup- 
tion, were  instantly  possessed  by  spirits  of  Hke  tone.  Hence, 
in  the  ranks  of  Spiritualism  and  spirit  mediums  there  appeared 
such  persons  who  stood  forth  mere  atheists,  deists,  pagans,  of 
no  creed  but  infidelity.  Like  attracts  like;  and  the  spirits  of 
their  stamp  claimed  kindred  with  those,  enveloped  them,  and 
taught  them  the  doctrines  of  the  hells,  or  of  the  dubious  and 
intermediate  regions.  As  the  Shaker  W.  F.  Evans  said,  ''  These 
are  brought  to  judgment,  for  their  inner  life  was  made  manifest 


34©  Book  of  Knowledge. 

by  the  spirits  who  claimed  them  and  indoctrinated  them.  This 
was  inevitable;  for  they  who  hoped  that  all  teaching  from  the 
invisible  world  would  be  true  were  as  ignorant  of  the  real  con- 
dition of  the  spirit-world  as  they  who,  seeing  evil,  denounced  all 
as  evil.  As  the  whole  of  this  history  has  shown,  the  good  and 
the  evil  issue  equally  from  the  spirit-world,  and  all  must  make 
their  election.  As  in  Christianity,  so  in  Spiritualism,  the  battle 
of  heaven  and  hell  is  forever  going  on.  Woe  to  those  who  ally 
themselves  to  the  one!  Well  for  those  who,  by  prayer  and 
faith,  seek  the  support  and  teaching  of  the  other,  that  is,  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  its  ministering  angels." 


OPPOSITION  TO  NEW  FACTS. 

The  Creator  of  man.  He  who  knows  all  the  springs  and 
motions  of  the  human  heart,  when  He  was  in  Christ  on  the 
earth,  said  to  His  messengers  of  His  great  new  truths,  "  Behold 
I  send  you  forth  as  lambs  amongst  wolves."  (Luke  X:3.)  This 
is  His  announcement  of  the  inevitable  consequences  of  the  mis- 
sion of  truth  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Persecution  is  the  eternal 
heritage  of  truth.  There  is  a  deadly  enmity  to  truth  in  the  spirit 
of  the  world  which  no  knowledge,  no  experience,  no  infinitely 
repeated  folly  will  ever  cure.  The  world  hates  new  truths  as 
the  owl  and  the  thief  hate  the  sun.  Mere  intellectual  enlighten- 
ment cannot  recognize  the  spiritual.  As  the  sun  puts  out  a  fire 
so  spirit  puts  out  the  eyes  of  mere  intellect. 

The  history  of  this  hatred  of  truth  is  the  same  in  the  pagan 
and  the  Christian  world.  Socrates,  Pythagoras  and  many 
others  fell  under  it.  But  it  is  most  strikingly  demonstrated  in 
the  history  of  Christ  and  His  church.  The  Jews,  the  educated 
classes  of  that  time,  who  had  studied  the  prophets  and  carried 
the  institutions  of  Moses  to  the  utmost  perfection,  still  wanting 
the  spiritual  vision,  when  Christ  came  covered  with  all  the  signs 
of  prophetic  history,  could  not  see  Him.  But  what  it  did  to 
Christ  and  His  apostles  it  had  done  long  before.  It  ridiculed 
Noah's  building  the  ark  for  a  hundred  years,  till  the  flood  came 
and  swept  all  the  sneerers  away.     It  made  the  life  of  Moses  for 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  341 

forty  years  a  torment,  and  after  a  thousand  miracles  in  the 
wilderness.  It  caused  the  pagans  to  roast,  boil  and  hew  in 
pieces  the  early  Christians. 

Nor  was  it  less  operative  among  the  early  Christians  them- 
selves. They  ridiculed  the  discoveries  of  science  as  the  scien- 
tific ridiculed  their  Christianity.  In  his  twenty-fourth  chapter, 
"  De  Antipodibus,  de  Caelo  ac  Sideribus,"  Lactantius  laughs  at 
the  notion  of  there  being  such  things  as  antipodes,  thereby 
showing  that  the  theory  of  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  and  of 
antipodes  was  held,  as  we  know  it  was,  by  Macrobius,  Pliny 
the  Younger,  Cleomenes  and  others.  Lactantius  is  quite  merry 
at  the  idea  of  "  homines  quorum  vestigia  sint  superiora  quam 
capita,'*  whose  heels  are  higher  than  their  heads.  Is  it  possible, 
he  asks,  for  trees  and  fruits  to  grow  downwards?  Rains  and 
snow  and  hail  to  fall  upwards  to  the  earth?  For  fields  and  seas 
and  cities  and  mountains  to  hang  upside  down?  The  reason, 
he  says,  by  which  they  came  to  such  absurd  ideas  was  that  they 
saw  the  sun  and  moon  always  setting  in  one  place,  and  always 
rising  in  another,  and  not  knowing  the  machinery  by  which  they 
were  conveyed  when  out  of  sight,  they  thought  the  heavens 
must  be  round,  and  therefore  the  earth  must  be  round,  too. 
Nay,  according  to  him,  they  had  actually  made  an  orrery. 

Thus  the  earth  was,  according  to  these  philosophers  (some 
of  them  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  probably 
earlier  still)  round,  and  the  planets  were  represented  the  same 
and  as  circling  round  it.  Then  followed  what  Lactantius  re- 
garded as  a  very  monstrous  notion.  .  .  "  That  is,  if  the 
earth  were  round,  it  would  follow  of  necessity  that  it  would 
everywhere  present  the  same  face  to  the  heavens;  it  would 
elevate  its  mountains,  extend  its  plains,  diffuse  its  seas.  And  if 
this  should  be,  then  this  extreme  condition  would  follow  too, 
that  there  would  be  no  part  of  the  earth  which  might  not  be  in- 
habited by  men  and  other  animals.  And  thus  the  rotundity  of 
the  earth  is  actually  made  to  introduce  pendulous  antipodes ! " 

But  if  you  ask,  says  our  learned  Christian  Father — and  he 
was  a  very  learned  man  of  his  age,  and  did  able  battle  with  the 
heathen  and  their  mythologies — how  all  these  things  are  pre- 
vented flying  off  from  the  round  earth  and  dropping  into  the 


342  Book  of  Knowledge. 

lower  regions  of  space,  they  tell  you  that  it  is  a  law  of  nature 
that  the  most  ponderable  substances  tend  to  the  centre,  and 
are  united  to  the  centre  as  you  see  the  spokes  in  a  flying  wheel ; 
whilst  the  lighter  substances,  as  clouds,  smoke  and  fire,  are 
carried  from  the  centre  and  mount  towards  the  heavens.     .     . 

Lactantius  cannot,  he  says,  account  for  the  people  continu- 
ing to  defend  such  absurdities,  except  that,  once  taking  up 
wrong  premises,  they  are  sure  to  go  on  maintaining  them; 
though  he  thinks  the  philosophers  are  sometimes  knowingly 
quizzing,  and  only  do  it  to  show  their  ingenuity  and  astonish  the 
people.  When  the  learned  laugh  at  Lactantius,  let  them  reflect 
for  a  moment  that  Spiritualism  may  be  just  as  true  now  as  that 
the  world  was  round,  and  that  there  were  antipodes  in  his  time. 

The  same  spirit  pursued  through  all  the  Middle  Ages  the 
children  of  the  light  by  its  grand  institution,  the  Inquisition, 
furnished  with  every  species  of  machinery  for  crushing,  burn- 
ing, racking  and  tearing  out  the  truth.  It  fought  desperately 
against  the  Reformation,  and  poured  all  its  fury  on  Huss, 
Jerome  of  Prague,  the  Lollards,  Waldenses,  Huguenots,  on 
Fox,  on  Wesley,  on  every  religious  reformer.  It  stood  in  the 
path  of  even  physical  progress  and  laughed.  It  is  the  fool  and 
the  Alguazil  of  every  age,  even  to  physical  progress.  We  all 
know  the  stories  of  Galileo,  of  Harvey,  and  Jenner ;  they  are 
worn  threadbare  in  holding  them  up  as  warnings.  It  put  Solo- 
mon de  Caus  in  the  Bicetre  as  a  madman  for  asserting  the 
power  of  steam.  The  Edinburgh  Review  called  on  the  public 
to  put  Thomas  Gray  into  a  strait-jacket  because  he  affirmed  that 
there  ought  to  be  railroads.  Gall  says  that  such  was  his  treat- 
ment for  introducing  phrenology  that  he  cauld  not  have  lived 
through  it  had  he  not  been  supported  by  one  man  who  knew  the 
value  of  science,  and  that  the  learned  even  did  not  restrain 
their  premature  jokes  and  squibs  till  they  had  made  some  re- 
search. 

A  writer  in  the  Homoeopathic  Review  says,  "  In  the  sixteenth 
century  the  French  Parliament  solemnly  interdicted  the  use 
of  antimony  as  a  medicine;  and  the  Faculty  of  Paris  not  only 
forbade  the  employment  of  all  chemical  remedies  but  would  not 
allow  them  even  to  be  mentioned  in  theses  and  examinations. 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  343 

In  the  same  century  the  discovery  of  the  valves  in  veins  by 
Amatus  Lusitanus  was  denied  and  ridiculed  by  the  chief  anat- 
omists of  the  day;  whilst  Harvey's  farther  discoveries  were 
treated  as  madness.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  medical 
profession  was  roused  to  fury  by  the  introduction  of  Peruvian 
bark.  This  remedy  was  not  brought  in  through  the  portals  of 
the  college;  and  the  new  discovery,  to  use  the  words  of  Boni- 
land,  had  to  be  "  baptized  in  tribulation."  The  physicians  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  allowed  him  to  die  of  ague  rather  than  admin- 
ister the  hated  specific.  In  the  same  century  the  president  of 
the  College  of  Physicians  committed  Dr.  Groenvelt  for  daring 
to  prescribe  cantharides  internally. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  Jenner  was  ridiculed,  lampooned 
and  excluded  from  the  honors  and  privileges  of  the  College  of 
Physicians  because  he  advocated  vaccination.  In  the  nine- 
teenth the  discovery  of  Laennec  was,  for  a  time,  scouted  by  the 
medical  authorities.  "  I  have  not,"  one  professor  sneeringly 
remarked,  "  a  sufficiently  fine  ear  to  hear  the  grass  grow,"  and 
at  a  medical  banquet  a  sort  of  dinner  of  the  Medical  Association 
of  the  day,  it  was  proposed  to  test  the  qualities  of  the  wines  by 
percussing  the  bottles.  If  we  pass  from  medicine  to  general 
science,  how  the  volume  teems  with  stories  of  bHnd  opposition 
to  everything  involving  a  change  of  opinion ! 

The  writer  then  cites  the  case  of  Galileo,  so  well  known,  and 
of  Columbus,  ridiculed  and  rebuffed  by  the  learned  men  of 
Genoa,  Portugal  and  Spain,  and  then,  having  proved  the  truth 
of  his  theory  of  another  continent,  dying  broken-hearted  amid 
the  hatred  and  envy  of  those  who  feared  conviction.  Of  Frank- 
lin, bravely  erecting  his  lightning  conductor  amid  the  jeers  of 
his  fellow  citizens,  and  not  only  so,  but  amid  those  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  London.  Dr.  Ashburner  in  the  "  Spiritual  Mag- 
azine," has  called  attention  to  the  following  fact  in  "  Lardner's 
Manual  of  Electricity,"  in  the  "  Cabinet  Library,"  i ;  47.  "  When 
these  and  other  papers,  proposing  that  an  iron  rod  should  be 
raised  to  a  great  height  in  the  air  to  convey  electricity  from  the 
clouds  to  the  earth,  by  Franklin,  illustrating  similar  views,  were 
sent  to  London  and  read  before  the  Royal  Society,  they  are 
said  to  have  been  considered  so  wild  and  absurd  that  they  were 


344  Book  of  Knowledge. 

received  with  laughter,  and  were  not  considered  worthy  of  so 
much  notice  as  to  be  admitted  into  the  "  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions." Dr.  Fothergill,  who  appreciated  their  value,  would 
not  permit  them  to  be  thus  stifled.  He  wrote  a  preface  to  them 
and  published  them  in  London.  They  subsequently  went  through 
five  editions! 

The  writer  then  cites  the  case  of  Perdonnet,  the  engineer, 
earning  the  character  of  a  madman  by  predicting  in  a  lecture 
at  the  Ecole  Centrale  the  success  of  railways.  He  adds, 
"  Then  have  we  not  some  pleasant  stories  of  the  French  acad- 
emicians— the  Sir  Benajmin  Brodies  of  the  day — the  creme  de 
la  creme  of  philosophers?  In  1805  Napoleon  the  First  applied 
to  the  Academy  to  know  if  concentrated  steam,  according  to 
Fulton's  process,  could  propel  a  vessel.  The  question  was 
answered  by  a  burst  of  laughter,  and  the  emperor  was  extremely 
mortified  for  having  showed  his  ignorance.  The  same  body  of 
philosophers  rejected  the  proposition  to  light  by  gas  as  an  im- 
possibility ;  and  years  afterwards  Arago  was  received  with  bursts 
of  contemptuous  laughter  when  he  wanted  to  speak  of  an  elec- 
tric telegraph,  his  learned  compeers  declaring  the  idea  to  be 
perfectly  Utopian.  To  these  instances  he  might  have  added  the 
ridicule  and  persecution  of  Hahnemann  for  the  discovery  of  the 
odyle  force. 

It  is  a  curiosity  of  science  that  Benjamin  Franklin,  who  had 
himself  experienced  the  ridicule  of  his  countrymen  for  his  at- 
tempts to  identify  lightning  and  electricity,  should  have  been 
one  of  the  committee  of  savans  in  Paris  in  1778  who  examined 
the  claims  of  mesmerism  and  condemned  it  as  absolute  quack- 
ery !  This  opinion  was  seconded  by  another  commission  which 
commenced  its  sittings  in  February,  1826,  and  continued  its 
labors  for  five  years.  The  report  of  the  commission,  however, 
recommended  that  physicians  only  should  be  allowed  to  practice 
mesmerism,  forgetting  that  it  was  unmedical  men  who  had 
forced  the  science  on  the  medical  men.  Mr.  Rich  shrewdly  ob- 
serves that  as  soon  as  the  church  recognizes  mesmerism,  and  we 
believe  Spiritualism  too,  it  will  then  consider  it  very  proper  that 
only  clergymen  should  practice  them. 

The  Scottish  Review  in  an  able  article  some  years  ago,  re- 


spiritualism  in  North  America.  345 

minded  its  readers  that  the  establishment  of  the  Royal  Society 
was  opposed  because  it  was  asserted  that  **  experimental  phil- 
osophy was  subversive  of  the  Christian  faith."  The  elder  Dis- 
raeli shows  that  telescopes  and  microscopes  were  at  first  de- 
nounced as  "  atheistic  innovations  which  perverted  our  organ 
of  sight  and  made  everything  appear  in  a  false  light."  In  the 
outcry  against  Jenner,  the  Anti- Vaccination  Society,  in  1806, 
execrated  vaccination  as  a  horrible  tyranny  "  for  forcing  disease 
on  the  innocent  babes  of  the  poor — a  gross  violation  of  religion, 
law,  morality  and  humanity."  It  was  declared  by  learned  men 
that  it  would  make  children  "  ox-faced,"  that  there  were  already 
symptoms  of  sprouting  horns  on  children,  and  that  they  would 
have  the  visages  of  cows  and  the  bellowing  of  bulls !  It  was 
declared  a  diabolical  invention  of  Satan,  a  tempting  of  Provi- 
dence, and  was  practical  sorcery  and  atheism. 

When  machines  were  invented  for  winnowing  corn,  a  dread- 
ful outcry  was  raised  in  Scotland,  that  it  was  an  impious  attempt 
to  supersede  God's  winds  and  raise  a  devil's  wind.  One  Scotch 
clergyman  refused  the  holy  communion  to  all  who  used  this 
"  devil's  "  machine.  The  readers  of  "  Old  Mortality  "  will  re- 
member the  indignation  of  honest  Mause  Headrigg  at  her  son 
Cuddie  having  to  "  work  in  a  barn  wi'  a  new-fangled  machile 
for  dighting  the  corn  frae  the  chaff,  thus  impiously,"  said  the 
alarmed  Mause,  "  thwarting  the  will  of  Divine  Providence  by 
raising  wind  for  your  ladyship's  ain  particular  use  by  human  art 
instead  of  soliciting  it  by  prayer,  or  waiting  patiently  whatever 
dispensation  of  wind  Providence  was  pleased  to  send  upon  the 
shelling  hills." 

When  a  route  was  discovered  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
a  priest  named  Acosta,  in  1588,  declared  that,  too,  a  resistance 
of  Divine  Providence  and  his  finite  barriers  which  could  only  be 
followed  by  plagues  and  curses.  When  forks  were  introduced 
into  England  they  were  denounced  by  the  preachers,  who  de- 
clared it  "  an  insult  on  Providence  not  to  touch  our  meat  with 
our  fingers."  The  abolition  of  slavery  was  treated  in  the  same 
manner  by  many  rehgious  people  as  an  impious  attempt  to  put 
aside  the  curse  on  Ham  and  his  posterity;  and  like  arguments 
are  still  used  against  the  attempts  to  convert  the  Jews,  a  people, 


346  Book  of  Knowledge. 

it  is  said,  rejected  for  their  rebellion  and  crucifixion  of  Christ. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  persons  at  the  present  day  who 
may,  with  much  profit,  digest  this  list  of  facts.  After  reading 
it  no  one  will  feel  himself  obliged  to  add  his  name  to  the  cata- 
logue of  bigoted  obstructives. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

GEORGE    FOX   AND   THE   FRIENDS. 

"  They  call  themselves  by  the  pleasant  name  of  Friends ;  the 
pious  called  them  the  Children  of  the  Light ;  the  baser  sort,  quak- 
ing at  the  light,  called  them  Quakers." 

Gerard  Groese. 

"  There  exist  folios  on  the  human  understanding  and  the 
nature  of  man,  which  would  have  a  far  juster  claim  to  their 
high  rank  and  celebrity,  if,  in  the  whole  huge  volume,  there  could 
be  found  as  much  fulness  of  heart  and  intellect  as  bursts  forth 
in  many  a  simple  page  of  George  Fox." 

Coleridge's  "  Biographia  Literaria." 

"  This  man,  the  first  of  the  Quakers  and  by  trade  a  shoemaker, 
as  one  of  them  whom  under  ruder  form,  the  Divine  idea  of  the 
universe  is  pleased  to  manifest  itself;  and  across  all  the  hulls  of 
ignorance  and  earthly  degradation,  shine  forth  in  unspeakable 
awfulness,  unspeakable  beauty  on  their  souls;  who,  therefore, 
are  rightly  recounted  prophets,  God  possessed." 

Thomas  Carlyle. 

Henry  VHI,  who  established  the  Reformation  in  England, 
died  in  1546;  George  Fox,  the  first  of  the  Society  of  Friends  was 
born  in  1624,  and  in  1646,  exactly  a  hundred  years  after  the  death 
of  the  royal  reformer,  as  he  was  walking  towards  Coventry,  was 
struck  with  a  sudden  wonder  how  all  were  said  to  be  Christians, 
both  Protestants  and  Papists,  and  that  it  was  said  that  all  the 
true  Christians  must  have  been  born  again,  and  thus  passed  from 
death  to  life,  a  fact  which  he  found  it  hard  to  believe  of  very 
many  of  his  contemporaries.  In  fact  the  more  honest  George 
pondered  on  this  subject  the  more  was  his  amazement;  for  surely 


348  Book  of  Knowledge, 

from  all  the  accounts  that  we  have  of  the  condition  of  genuine 
Christianity  there  was  very  little  of  it  at  that  time.  Protestantism 
patronized,  if  not  introduced,  by  royalty  into  England,  had  under 
State  pressure  assumed  a  very  odd  shape.  Checked  and  driven 
and  thwarted  by  kingly  and  queenly  caprices  it  had  become  a 
very  hybrid  and  stunted  thing.  It  had  abjured  voluntarily  many 
of  the  gifts  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  those  of  curing  by  laying 
on  of  hands,  prophesying  and  working  miracles,  thus  having 
lopped  off  a  number  of  its  own  limbs;  and  this  circumstance, 
cooperating  with  the  royal  tinkering  of  the  faith,  had  done  won- 
ders in  introducing  a  strange  death-in-life  sort  of  religion.  Hav- 
ing abandoned  all  faith  in  the  supernatural,  very  few  people 
believed  in  the  action  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  spirit  of  man. 
Nothing  brought  so  much  ridicule  on  the  Friends  as  their  assertion 
that  they  were  moved  by  the  Spirit.  It  became  a  common  mode 
of  scoffing  at  them  to  say  that  *'  the  Spirit  moves  them."  Nay, 
it  is  still  thought  rather  witty  to  say  that  "  the  Spirit  moves  them." 
As  for  being  born  again,  in  George  Fox's  day  it  was  ridiculed 
by  bishops  and  clergy  as  the  height  of  absurdity.  To  be  a  Chris- 
tian was  to  go  to  Church,  to  adjourn  thence  to  the  ale-house  and 
to  drink  and  swear  lustily;  and  to  be  a  heretic  was  to  go  to  a 
Dissenting  Chapel,  dubbed  by  law  a  "  conventicle,"  and  to  be 
fined  twenty  pounds  for  it.  Such  was  the  condition  to  which 
legal  and  regal  Protestantism  had  reduced  this  country  in  a 
hundred  years. 

We  need  not  take  the  evidence  of  George  Fox  and  the  Friends 
solely  on  this  point.  Richard  Baxter  was  Fox's  contemporary 
and  a  clergyman  of  the  legal  Church  too.  In  Orme's  life  of  the 
venerable  Richard  it  is  stated  that  "  before  or  about  the  time  that 
Richard  was  born,  1615,  an  important  change  took  place  in  his 
father.  This  was  affected  chiefly  by  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures ; 
for  he  had  not  the  benefit  of  Christian  association  or  the  public 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  Indeed  the  latter  privilege  could 
scarcely  be  enjoyed  in  that  county — Shropshire.  There  was 
little  preaching  of  any  kind  and  that  little  was  calculated  to  injure 
rather  than  to  benefit.  In  High  Ercall,  his  place  of  residence, 
there  were  four  readers  in  the  course  of  six  years,  all  of  them 
ignorant,  and  two  of  them  immoral  men.    At  Eaton- Constantine, 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  349 

also  a  place  of  his  abode  and  hereditary  property,  there  was  a 
reader  of  eighty  years  of  age,  Sir  William  Rogers,  who  never 
preached,  yet  had  two  livings  twenty  miles  apart  from  each  other. 
His  sight  failing,  he  repeated  the  prayers  without  book,  but  to 
read  the  lessons  he  employed  a  common  laborer  one  year,  a  tailor 
another ;  and  at  last  his  own  son,  the  best  stage  player  and  game- 
ster in  all  the  county,  got  orders  and  supplied  one  of  his  places. 
Within  a  few  more  miles  round  were  nearly  a  dozen  more  min- 
isters of  the  same  description;  poor^  ignorant  readers  and  most 
of  them  of  dissolute  lives.  Three  or  four  who  were  of  a  different 
character,  though  all  conformists,  were  the  objects  of  popular 
derision  and  hatred  as  Puritans.  Where  such  was  the  character 
of  the  priests  we  need  not  wonder  that  the  people  were  profligate 
and  despisers  of  those  who  were  good.  The  greater  part  of  the 
Lord's  Day  was  spent  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  in  dancing 
round  a  May-pole,  near  Mr.  Baxter's  door,  to  the  no  small  dis- 
tress and  disturbance  of  the  family  "  (p.  2,  "  Baxter's  Life,"  by 
the  Rev.  William  Orme.) 

George  Fox  was  born  at  Drayton,  in  Leicestershire,  in  July, 
1624.  His  parents  were  of  the  Church  of  England;  his  father 
a  weaver  and  George  himself  was  put  apprentice  to  a  shoemaker 
who  dealt  in  wool  and  cattle.  George  does  not  seem  to  have  had 
much  to  do  with  the  shoemaking ;  he  took  most  delight  in  attend- 
ing to  the  sheep  and  to  farming  operations.  He  was  early  visited 
by  religious  convictions,  and  sought  enlightenment  from  the 
clergy  around  him.  It  was  not  likely,  however,  that  such  min- 
isters as  Baxter  has  described  could  do  him  much  good.  He  fell 
into  great  distress  of  mind  and  walked  many  nights  by  himself 
in  great  spiritual  troubles  and  sorrow.  The  clergyman  of  his 
parish,  one  Nathaniel  Stevens,  so  far  from  communicating  spir- 
itual light,  drew  from  George  and  used  to  make  his  sermons 
out  of  what  he  heard  from  him  in  conversation.  George,  there- 
fore, went  to  an  ancient  priest  at  Mansetter,  in  Warwickshire,  and 
endeavored  to  learn  from  him  the  causes  of  his  despair  and 
temptations ;  but  this  "  ancient  priest "  had  no  better  counsel  for 
him  than  "  to  take  tobacco  and  sing  psalms."  But  George  sig- 
nified that  he  was  no  lover  of  tobacco,  and  as  for  psalms  he  was 


3 so  Book  of  Knowledge. 

not  in  a  state  to  sing.  Then  the  priest  bade  him  come  again  and 
then  he  would  tell  him  many  things.  But  when  George  came  the 
priest  was  angry  and  pettish  for  George's  former  words  had 
displeased  him;  and  he  was  so  indiscreet  that  what  George  had 
told  him  of  his  sorrows  and  griefs  he  told  again  to  his  servants, 
so  that  it  got  amongst  the  milk  lasses,  and  grieved  him  to  have 
opened  his  mind  to  such  a  one ;  and  he  saw  they  were  all  miserable 
comforters.  Then  he  heard  of  a  priest  living  about  Tarn  worth, 
who  was  accounted  an  experienced  man  and  therefore  he  went 
to  him,  but  found  him  like  an  empty  hollow  cask.  .  .  After 
this,  he  went  to  one  Macham,  a  priest  of  high  account;  and  he, 
no  more  skilful  than  the  others,  was  for  giving  George  some 
physic  and  for  bleeding  him.  But  they  could  not  get  one  drop 
of  blood  from  him,  either  in  the  arms  or  the  head,  his  body 
being  as  it  were,  dried  up  with  sorrows,  grief  and  trouble,  which 
were  so  great  upon  him  that  he  could  have  wished  never  to  have 
been  born,  to  behold  the  vanity  and  wickedness  of  men;  or  that 
he  had  been  born  blind  and  so  he  might  never  have  seen  it; 
and  deaf  that  he  might  never  have  heard  vain  and  wicked  words 
or  the  Lord's  name  blasphemed."  (Sewel's  "History  of  Chris- 
tian People  in  derision  called  Quakers,"  Vol.  I.  pp.  8-12.) 

Fortunately  for  George  Fox  he  was  driven  from  seeking  spir- 
itual aid  from  all  such  "  empty  casks,"  to  the  true  means,  his 
Bible  and  earnest  solitary  prayer  for  Divine  illumination.  He 
retired  into  the  fields  and  spent  whole  days  and  nights  reading 
and  praying  in  a  hollow  tree.  Here  he  found  what  is  divinely 
promised,  that  to  those  who  knock  it  shall  be  opened ;  that  those 
who  seek  spiritual  teaching  from  the  Divine  Spirit  itself  shall 
find  it.  His  darkness,  his  doubts,  his  despair,  gradually  cleared 
away ;  and  he  came  to  see  the  truth  developed  to  his  understand- 
ing, pure  and  free  from  all  school  glosses.  Never  since  the  orig- 
inal proclamation  of  the  gospel  to  the  simple  fishermen  of  Galilee, 
had  its  noble  reality  been  so  completely  manifested.  It  came  to 
him  unclouded,  unimpeded  by  any  preconceived  or  preinculcated 
notions  or  conventionalism.  There  were  in  his  hollow  oak,  no 
"  royal  reasons  "  to  warp  God's  truth,  no  college  logic  to  cramp  it ; 
pure  and  unadulterated  it  issued  from  the  Divine  mind  as  the 
waters  of  Siloa's  fount,  which  "  flowed  fast  by  the  oracle  of  God." 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  351 

It  came  forth  in  all  its  august  but  simple  greatness,  and  Fox, 
a  soul  of  the  most  honest  and  intrepid  mould,  embraced  it  with 
that  love  and  faith  which  are  ready,  not  only  to  die  for  it,  but  to 
suffer  all  contempt  and  wrong  for  it  whilst  living.  Lord 
Macaulay,  in  his  "  History  of  England,"  has  treated  Fox  as  a 
fanatic  ignoramus  and  little  better  than  an  idiot.  It  was  the  only 
judgment  to  which  such  a  man  as  Macaulay  could  come.  Fox 
must  be  an  idiot  to  a  man  like  Macaulay  and  Macaulay  must  have 
been  an  idiot  to  him.  Macaulay  was  essentially  an  outward, 
worldly-minded  man,  a  man  given  up  to  Whiggism,  and  standing 
well  with  the  world;  and  verily  he  had  his  reward.  Fox  was 
the  exact  antipode  of  such  a  man.  Fox  was  no  fool ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  was  a  man  though  destitute  of  much  human  education, 
possessed  of  a  masculine  understanding,  of  a  power  of  reason 
against  which  the  florid  rhetoric  of  Macaulay  would  have  stood 
no  more  chance  than  did  the  ablest  sophisms  of  the  ablest  men 
of  the  time ;  judges,  officers,  clergy,  statesmen,  of  Cromwell  him- 
self, as  may  be  seen  by  his  history.  Macaulay,  w^ith  his  mere 
worldism,  could  no  more  understand  a  man  of  the  intellectual 
calibre  of  Fox  than  a  monkey's  subtlety  can  comprehend  the  mas- 
sive sagacity  of  an  elephant.  The  one  was  all  superficial  ex- 
pedience, the  other  all  eternal  truth;  the  one  having  no  root  in 
the  eternal  soil  of  principle,  the  other  all  heart  and  principle; 
the  one  worshipping  at  the  shrine  of  popularity  and  personal 
advantage,  the  other  worshipping  only  the  eternally  true,  the 
eternally  holy,  and  despising  every  temporary  profit  or  glory 
which  could  interpose  itself  in  his  life  and  death  struggle  towards 
it.  Such  men  must  remain  longer  than  suns  and  systems  remain ; 
while  truths  are  truths,  and  selfisms  are  selfisms,  idiots,  incontro- 
vertible idiots  to  each  other ;  with  this  difference,  that  Fox  could 
have  seen  through  and  through  Macaulay  at  a  glance,  whilst 
Macaulay  could  never  fathom  the  profound  greatness  of  Fox. 
The  religion  of  Fox  became,  like  that  of  the  first  apostles,  a  relig- 
ion in  which  spiritual  truth  went  for  everything,  mundane  consid- 
erations, mundane  reservations,  mundane  balancing  of  advantage, 
for  nothing.  With  him.  all  was  for  God  and  the  insurmountable 
truth ;  all  for  man  and  his  eternity,  without  any  temptation  from 
man  as  a  favor-bestowing  or  praise-bestowing  creature  of  a  day. 


352  Book  of  Knowledge. 

The  mountain  standing  in  the  vastness  and  the  solidities  of  nature 
knows  nothing  of  the  sheep  which  grazes  it,  or  the  butterfly 
which  sports  over  its  herbage;  and  they  cannot  comprehend  the 
soHd  and  age-enduring  mountain.  When  they  can  understand 
each  other,  then  Foxes  and  Macaulays  will  understand  each  other 
and  not  till  then. 

Fox  was  developed  into  the  highest  phase  of  Spiritualism, 
that  of  direct  communion  with  the  Divine  mind,  by  the  same 
means  as  the  apostles  and  saints  in  all  ages  have  been  developed 
and  baptized  into  it,  by  opening  their  souls  in  solitude  and  prayer 
to  the  eternal  Soul  in  a  sublime,  unflinching  integrity.  In  this 
silent  and  perfect  dedication  to  its  infiltrations,  in  a  heroic  submis- 
sion to  its  meltings  and  mouldings,  he  found  all  the  outward 
husks  of  human  theories,  the  outward  shadow  of  self-indulgence, 
self-weakness,  self-cravings  and  self-wisdom  drop  away,  and  a 
pure,  calm,  resplendant  wisdom  and  strength  rise  up  in  clear 
vision,  and  make  him  a  free  man  of  the  universe,  triumphant  over 
pride,  passion  and  temporal  desire  in  the  power  and  unity  of  God. 

He  had  now  rapidly  to  unlearn  what  he  had  learned  in  estab- 
lished teachings  of  the  age.  "  As  he  was  walking  in  a  field,  on 
a  First-Day  morning,  it  was  discovered  unto  his  understanding, 
that  to  be  bred  at  Oxford  or  Cambridge  was  not  enough  to  make 
a  man  a  minister  of  Christ.  At  this  he  wondered  because  it  was 
the  common  belief  of  the  people ;  but  for  all  that  he  took  this  to 
be  a  Divine  revelation  and  he  admired  the  goodness  of  the  Lord, 
believing  now  the  ordinary  ministers  not  to  be  such  as  they  pre- 
tended to  be.  This  made  him  unwilling  to  go  any  more  to  church, 
as  it  was  called,  to  hear  the  priest  Stevens,  believing  that  he 
could  not  profit  thereby;  and  therefore  instead  of  going  thither, 
he  would  get  into  the  orchard  or  the  fields  by  himself,  with  his 
Bible,  which  he  esteemed  above  all  books,  seeking  thus  to  be 
edified  in  solitariness.  At  this  his  relations  were  much  troubled; 
but  he  asked  them  whether  John,  the  apostle,  did  not  say  to  the 
believers,  that  "  they  needed  no  man  to  teach  them,  but  as  the 
anointing  teacheth  them."  And  though  they  knew  this  to  be 
Scripture  and  that  it  was  true,  yet  it  grieved  them,  because  he 
would  not  go  to  hear  the  priest  with  them  but  separated  himself 
from  their  way  of  worship;  for  he  now  saw  that  a  true  believer 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  353 

was  another  thing  than  they  looked  upon  it  to  be ;  and  that  being 
bred  at  the  universities  did  not  qualify  a  man  to  be  a  minister 
of  Christ.  Thus  he  lived  by  himself,  not  joining  with  any,  nay, 
not  of  the  dissenting  people,  but  became  a  stranger  to  all,  relying 
wholly  upon  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Fox,  in  fact,  found  himself,  like  Abraham,  called  to  go  forth 
from  his  father's  house  and  his  kindred,  from  all  old  teachings,  as- 
sociations and  notions;  for  he  was  appointed  one  of  those  who 
have  to  revitalize  the  Church  and  bring  it  back  to  its  original  faith 
and  power.  He  had  to  go  forth  with  the  Bible  in  his  hand  and 
the  fire  of  God  in  his  soul  to  bring  men  back  from  set  forms 
and  dead  rituals  to  the  simple  religion  of  the  Bible;  and  it  is 
the  Bible,  in  such  hands,  which  has  continually  to  fight  with  mere 
human  formalities  and  dead  shells  of  profession.  It  is  this  which 
has  produced  all  the  changes  and  reforms  that  have  appeared  in 
the  Christian  Church  yet.  It  overthrew  Paganism,  it  split  asunder 
Popery,  it  ruined  Monkery  in  this  country,  it  destroyed  it  in 
Spain.  The  Catholics  were  deeper  in  worldly  wisdom  than  the 
Church  of  England ;  they  knew  it  to  be  an  enemy  and  they  treated 
it  as  an  enemy;  they  kept  it  down  and  out  of  sight  as  long  as 
they  could.  Henry  VIII  and  Elizabeth  were  wiser  in  this  respect 
than  their  successors.  Henry  passed  an  Act  in  1539  called  the 
*'  Bloody  Statute,"  in  which  he  decreed  that  "  no  women,  artifi- 
cers, apprentices,  journeymen,  husbandmen,  or  laborers,  should 
read  the  New  Testament  on  pain  of  death  " ;  and  Elizabeth  was 
equally  averse  to  it.  She  did  not  wish  the  people  to  read  at  all 
lest  it  should  make  them  less  submissive.  She  disliked  even 
preachings,  lest  the  mischievous  principles  of  Christianity  should 
steal  abroad  through  it;  three  or  four  preachers  in  a  county  she 
declared  quite  sufficient.  Such  was  the  policy  of  the  Catholic 
Church  and  of  the  cunning  founders  of  the  English  Church ;  but 
now  the  Bible  had  been  allowed  to  walk  abroad  over  the  whole 
land ;  the  peasant  had  learned  to  feel  himself  a  man  and  the  man 
an  immortal  creature — the  child  of  God — the  heir  of  precious 
rights  and  deathless  hopes ;  a  being  too  good  to  be  trodden  on  by 
priestly  pride,  or  robbed  by  priestly  pretenses.  It  was  because 
the  peasants  of  Scotland  had,  in  every  mountain  glen  and  lowland 
hut,  listened  to  the  animating  topics  and  precious  promises  of 


354  Book  of  Knowledge. 

the  "  big  ha'  Bible/'  that  they  had  risen  and  resisted  the  bloody 
emissaries  of  the  Church.  And  now  throughout  England,  in  city 
and  hamlet,  in  field  and  forest,  the  great  charter  of  man  was 
studied  and  was  ready  in  the  hands  of  "  the  man  in  leather  "  to 
cast  down  everything  that  was  opposed  to  freedom  of  spirit  and 
independence  of  purpose. 

Amongst  these  inquiring  spirits,  or  seekers  as  they  were  called, 
George  Fox  went  forth  in  1647,  directing  his  first  course  into 
Nottinghamshire  and  Derbyshire.  "  During  all  this  time  he 
never  joined  in  profession  of  religion  with  any  but  gave  himself 
up  to  the  disposal  of  the  Lord;  having  forsaken  not  only  all 
evil  company,  but  also  taken  leave  of  father  and  mother  and  all 
other  relations ;  and  so  he  travelled  up  and  down  as  a  stranger  on 
the  earth,  which  way  he  felt  his  heart  inclined,  and  when  he  came 
into  a  town  he  took  a  chamber  to  himself  there  and  tarried  some- 
times a  month,  sometimes  more,  sometimes  less,  in  a  place,  lest, 
being  a  tender  young  man,  he  should  be  hurt  by  too  familiar  a 
conversation  with  men."     (Sewel,  Vol.  I,  p.  15.) 

As  he  had  forsaken  the  priests  of  the  establishment,  so  he 
left  the  separate  teachers  too,  because  he  saw  there  was  none 
amongst  them  all  that  could  speak  to  his  condition.  And  when 
all  his  hopes  in  them  and  in  all  men  were  gone,  then  he  heard, 
according  to  what  he  relates  himself,  a  voice  which  said,  "  There 
is  one,  even  Jesus  Christ,  that  can  speak  to  thy  condition."  Hav- 
ing heard  this  his  heart  leapt  for  joy  and  it  was  shown  him  why 
there  was  none  upon  the  earth  that  could  speak  to  his  condition, 
namely,  that  he  might  give  the  Lord  all  the  glory. 

He  was  now  in  a  continual  progress  of  spiritual  teaching  by 
inward  revelation.  He  learned  experimentally  that  Christ  is  the 
light  that  truly  enlighteneth  any  man  that  cometh  into  the  world ; 
and  this  became  so  fundamental  a  doctrine  of  his  that  the  people 
who  gathered  about  him  were  at  first  called  "  The  Children  of 
the  Light."  Yet  he  was  a  diligent  reader  of  the  Scriptures,  that 
speak  at  large  of  God  and  Christ,  though  he  knew  him  not  but 
by  revelation,  as  he  who  had  the  key  did  open.  George  was  in 
the  highest  state  of  mediumship  and  of  Spiritualism,  namely,  in 
direct  communication  with  the  Spirit  of  God;  and  his  followers 
cultivated  this  highest  condition  and  laid  down  their  whole  sys- 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends,  355 

tern  upon  it,  paying  little  attention  to  the  secondary  condition 
of  ministrations  through  angels,  which  has  been  the  more  par- 
ticular dispensation  of  this  more  material  age.  Yet  we  shall  see 
that  he  and  his  friends  showed  themselves  distinguishers  of 
dreams,  casters  out  of  evil  spirits,  healers  in  the  name  of  Christ, 
and  predicters  of  events,  etc.  They  possessed  many  of  the  gifts 
of  the  true  Church,  though  they  desired  above  all  to  walk  in  the 
immediate  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  to  call  all  men  to  this 
communion  as  the  source  of  all  Christian  teaching  and  edification. 
So  much  was  this  the  case  that  they  were  accused  of  not  believ- 
ing in  the  outward  Christ,  who  died  at  Jerusalem,  because  they 
taught  that  the  outward  death  of  Christ  there  and  then  would 
avail  little  without  the  inward  life  and  perpetually  quickening 
and  reforming  power  of  His  Spirit.  This  absurd  calumny  has 
even  been  reiterated  in  our  time  as  it  was  by  honest  but  misin- 
formed Richard  Baxter.  The  Rev.  Robert  Philip,  in  his  lives 
of  Whitefield  and  Bunyan,  and  Dr.  Wardlaw,  of  Glasgow,  have 
repeated  the  calumny,  scarcely  allowing  Friends  to  be  Christians 
on  that  account,  the  simple  truth  of  the  matter  being,  that  whilst 
they  fully  believed  and  proclaimed  their  belief  in  the  outward 
Christ,  they  were  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  the  great  doctrine 
of  his  indwelling  and  regenerating  life  in  the  soul,  then  treated 
as  a  myth,  but  now  from  the  Quakers  readmitted  to  general  cre- 
dence. In  the  Articles  and  Homilies  of  the  Church  of  England, 
indeed,  this  doctrine  existed,  but  at  that  day  it  had  ceased  to 
exist  in  the  credence  of  the  clergy  and  was  continually  ridiculed 
by  them  when  asserted  by  Friends. 

With  the  people  whom  Fox  came  amongst  were  some 
who  believed  much  in  dreams;  but  he  taught  them  to  make  a 
very  necessary  distinction  betwixt  one  kind  of  dreams  and 
another.  He  told  them  there  were  three  sorts  of  dreams.  Mul- 
tiplication of  business  produced  dreams ;  there  were  whisperings 
of  Satan  in  the  night  seasons,  and  there  were  also  speakings 
of  God  to  man  in  dreams — facts  amply  confirmed  by  modern 
Spiritualism.  Amongst  his  continued  spiritual  openings  he  had 
several  precisely  of  the  kind  made  since  to  Swedenborg.  "  In 
Nottinghamshire  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  show  him  that  the 
natures  of  those  things  that  were  hurtful  without  were  also 


356  Book  of  Knowledge. 

within  in  the  minds  of  wicked  men ;  and  that  the  natures  of  dogs, 
swine,  vipers,  and  those  of  Cain,  Ishmael,  Esau,  Pharoah,  etc., 
were  in  the  hearts  of  many  people.  But  since  this  did  grieve 
him  he  cried  to  the  Lord,  saying,  "  Why  should  I  be  thus,  seeing 
I  was  never  addicted  to  commit  these  evils  ?  "  And  inwardly  it 
was  answered  him,  "  That  it  was  needful  he  should  have  a  sense 
of  all  conditions ;  how  else  should  he  speak  to  all  conditions  ?  " 
He  also  saw  that  there  was  an  ocean  of  darkness  and  death, 
but  withal  an  infinite  ocean  of  light  and  love,  which  flowed  over 
the  ocean  of  darkness  in  all  which  he  perceived  the  infinite  love 
of  God.    (Sewel,  Vol.  I,  p.  18.) 

Again  he  says,  "  I  saw  into  that  which  was  without  end, 
and  things  whic'h  cannot  be  uttered;  and  of  the  greatness  and 
infiniteness  of  the  love  of  God,  which  cannot  be  expressed  by 
words ;  and  I  have  been  brought  to  the  very  ocean  of  darkness 
and  death;  and  the  same  eternal  power  of  God  which  brought 
me  through  those  things  was  that  which  afterwards  shook  the 
nation,  priests,  professors  and  people.  .  .  And  I  saw  the 
harvest  white,  and  the  seed  of  God  lying  thick  on  the  ground 
as  ever  did  wheat  which  was  sown  outwardly,  and  none  to 
gather  it,  and  for  this  I  mourned  with  tears." 

The  shaking  which  came  through  Fox,  of  priests,  people, 
officers,  magistrates  and  learned  men  was  a  great  revolution 
little  understood  at  the  present  day.  Of  late  there  has  been 
much  talk  of  Quakerism  dying  out,  and  sundry  books  have  been 
written  to  show  the  causes  of  it ;  but  those  who  supposed  such  a 
thing  little  knew  what  Quakerism  was  or  is.  It  is  not  a  religion 
of  caps  and  coats,  but  of  the  great  principles  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  at  that  day  lay  trodden  under  foot.  Fox  went  on 
under  a  process  of  revelation  till  he  saw  the  whole  mighty 
scheme  of  the  gospel  in  its  grandeur  and  fulness.  He  came  to 
despise  all  mere  outer  forms,  and  to  grasp  the  inward  and  eter- 
nal principles  of  Christian  truth— THE  TRUTH— as  he  em- 
phatically termed  it.  This  consisted  in  the  doctrine  that  Christ 
is  the  Word,  the  Light  and  the  Comforter  which  enlightens 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world  and  leadeth  into  all  truth. 
That  by  opening  our  hearts  to  this  divine  and  ever-present 
Teacher  we  have  all  truth  in  "  the  two  great  books  of  God,  the 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  357 

Bible  and  Nature,"  opened  up  to  us.  That  in  Christ  we  are 
born  again  new  creatures  and  trained  up  into  perfect  men  in 
Christ  Jesus.  Like  Wesley,  since  he  believed  in  the  possibility 
of  the  attainment  of  perfection  in  this  life,  and  in  the  perception 
of  acceptance  with  God,  he  came  to  protest  against  all  State 
establishments  of  religion — that  Christ's  religion  is  free  and 
self-sustaining.  That  it  is  utterly  opposed  to  all  despotism  in 
creed,  or  in  politics;  to  usurpation  of  the  personal  liberties  of 
man ;  to  all  giving  and  receiving  of  titles  of  worldly  honor  and 
flattery.  He  refused,  on  this  account,  to  pay  what  he  called 
hat-homage,  by  taking  off  his  hat  to  people,  and  to  use  "  you  " 
to  a  single  person.  All  these  things,  he  asserted,  sprang  from 
pride  and  an  inordinate  self-love  and  vanity ;  and  how  truly  this 
was  the  case  was  seen  by  the  resentment  and  the  persecution 
which  the  refusal  of  them  occasioned.  He  rejected  baptism  by 
water  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  as  non-essential 
forms,  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit  being  the  true  and  essential 
baptism ;  and  that  if  we  commemorated  the  Last  Supper,  though 
only  recommended  to  Christ's  own  immediate  disciples,  we 
ought  also  to  wash  one  another's  feet  as  a  ceremony  more 
strictly  enjoined.  He  taught  that  tithes  were  anti-Christian, 
both  tithes  and  those  to  whom  they  were  given  being  terminated 
with  the  tribe  of  Levi.  He  showed  the  impropriety  of  calling 
that  a  church  which  was  only  the  meeting  place  of  the  Church, 
and  generally  styled  those  steeple-houses.  Never  was  there 
such  a  stripping  away  of  the  old  rotten  bark  of  ecclesiasticism, 
so  thorough  a  return  to  the  naked  truth  of  the  gospel.  Such  a 
system  was  sure  to  bring  down  a  tremendous  tempest  of  perse- 
cution, and  the  whole  history  of  the  Society  of  Friends  down 
to  the  Act  of  Toleration  by  William  HI  is  a  history  of  as  fright- 
ful and  ruthless  persecutions  as  ever  fell  on  any  Christian  body 
from  any  Church  calling  itself  Christian.  The  history  of  these 
awful  "  sufferings  "  fill  a  huge  folio  volume.  The  Five  Mile 
Act,  the  Conventicle  Act,  and  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  and  Su- 
premacy were  made  the  means  of  fleecing  the  Friends  by  whole- 
sale. Fox  and  his  disciples  could  not  take  any  oath  at  all,  see- 
ing that  Christ  had  most  explicitly  said,  "  Swear  not  at  all,'* 
and  therefore  this  oath  was  made  a  continual  snare  to  .them. 


358  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Fox  had  soon  vast  numbers  of  serious  inquirers  of  all  ranks 
flocking  to  him,  and  as  they  declared  that  the  gospel  ought  to 
be  preached  freely — "  freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give  " — the 
clergy  saw  that,  if  this  succeeded,  their  craft  was  gone  forever. 
Therefore  clergy,  and  magistracy,  and  soldiery  came  down  on 
these  modern  apostles  "  who  turned  the  world  upside  down," 
and  they  were  plundered  and  thrown  into  prison  by  thousands. 
Fox  and  nearly  all  his  eminent  followers  passed  many  years  in 
prisons — such  dens  of  filth,  inclemency  and  wickedness  as  now 
strike  us  in  the  description  with  amazement.  Two  thousand  five 
hundred  Friends  were  in  prison  at  one  time,  and  three  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  died  there !  In  Bristol,  at  one  time,  every  adult 
Quaker  was  in  prison  for  his  faith ;  and  the  children  still  met, 
in  spite  of  the  beatings  and  insults  of  their  persecutors,  who 
struck  them  in  the  face,  as  they  were  accustomed  to  do  the 
women,  whom  it  was  a  favorite  plan  to  drag  by  the  hair,  pinch 
their  arms  till  black  and  blue,  and  prick  them  with  bodkins  and 
packing  needles.  When  this  would  not  do  they  banished  them 
to  the  colonies  and  sugar  plantations,  and  sold  them  for  slaves, 
where  their  doctrines  soon  spread,  and  persecution  became  as 
hot  as  at  home,  especially  in  New  England,  where  the  famous 
Pilgrim  Fathers  exceeded  all  others  in  monstrous  fines,  flog- 
ging of  women  from  town  to  town,  cutting  oflf  ears,  and  hang- 
ing I  These  people,  who  had  fled  from  England  on  the  plea  of 
escaping  persecution  for  religion  there,  turned  the  most  savage 
of  persecutors,  showing  that  their  boasted  love  of  religious 
freedom  was  but  selfishness. 

All  this  time  at  home  (that  is,  for  thirty  years),  the  Friends 
were  stripped  of  their  property  by  means  of  the  before-named 
enactments,  the  informers  receiving  one-third  of  the  spoil. 
They  were  charged  ten  pounds  apiece  for  attending  a  Friends* 
meeting,  and  twenty  pounds  a-piece  if  they  opened  their  mouths 
to  defend  themselves  on  the  pretense  that  they  preached !  Their 
meeting-houses  were  pulled  down — ^those  in  London,  by  Sir 
Christopher  Wren !  Their  very  beds  were  dragged  from  under 
them,  and  one  woman's  body  was  torn  from  a  grave!  From 
1655  to  the  end  of  this  persecution  half  a  million  of  money,  or 
money's  worth,  was  wrenched  from  them.    One   clergyman 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  359 

said  he  would  rather  see  all  the  Quakers  hanged  than  lose  a 
sixpence  by  them.  The  informers  lived  jovially  on  them.  They 
entered  freely  into  their  houses,  kept  the  keys  of  their  doors  in 
their  pockets,  and  declared  that  they  would  eat  of  the  best,  and 
drink  of  the  sweetest,  and  these  rogues  of  Quakers  should  pay 
for  all.  When  they  complained  to  Archbishop  Bancroft  of  these 
villains  he  coolly  repHed,  "  There  requires  crooked  timber  to 
build  a  ship!" 

These  are  singular  features  of  the  state  of  the  national 
church  and  its  universities  in  George  Fox's  time,  and  of  what 
people  suffered  for  spirituality  then.  We  Spiritualists  of  to-day 
walk  in  silken  slippers  and  are  let  off  with  a  harmless  sneer  or 
two.  Having  shown  what  Fox  and  the  Friends  endured  for 
Spiritualism,  we  may  again  revert  to  a  few  more  traits  of  its 
peculiar  character. 

The  power  evinced  during  some  meetings  was  such  that  the 
house  seemed  to  be  shaken,  and  on  one  occasion  a  clergyman 
ran  out  of  the  church  lest  it  should  fall  on  his  head.  This  was 
at  Ulverstone,  but  the  thing  was  of  frequent  occurrence.  In 
1648  George  Fox  had  "  an  opening,"  such  as  Swedenborg  re- 
cords of  himself.  "  The  creation  was  opened  to  me ;  and  it 
showed  to  me  how  all  things  had  their  names  given  them,  ac- 
cording to  their  nature  and  virtue.  And  I  was  at  a  stand  in 
my  mind  whether  I  should  practise  physic  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind, seeing  the  nature  and  virtues  of  the  creatures  were  so 
opened  to  me  by  the  Lord."  He  says  that  the  Lord  showed 
him  that  such  as  were  faithful  to  Him  would  be  brought  into 
the  state  in  which  Adam  was  before  the  fall,  when  the  natures 
of  all  things  were,  by  the  divine  unity,  known  to  man ;  and  that 
so  they  would  come  to  know  the  hidden  unity  in  the  Eternal 
Being.  He  was  shown  that  the  professors  of  physic,  divinity 
and  law  were  all  destitute  of  the  true  knowledge  and  wisdom 
necessary  for  these  professions ;  and  that  nothing  but  this  divine 
illumination  could  bring  them  into  it.  It  was  shown  him,  how- 
ever, that  his  labor  was  not  to  be  physical  but  spiritual.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  he  felt  a  certain  assurance  of  his  acceptance 
with  God. 

At  Mansfield  Woodhouse  he  found  the  gospel  gift  of  com- 


360  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mand  over  disordered  spirits  manifested  in  him.  There  was  a 
distracted  woman  under  a  doctor's  hands,  being  bound,  and 
with  her  hair  loose.  The  doctor  was  trying  to  bleed  her,  but 
could  get  no  blood  from  her.  Fox  desired  that  she  might  be 
unbound,  and  he  then  commanded  her  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
to  be  still;  and  this  had  such  effect  that  she  became  still;  her 
mind  settled,  she  grew  well,  and  became  a  convert  to  his  doc- 
trine and  remained  perfectly  sane  till  her  death.  Soon  after  he 
restored  a  person  who  was  ill  by  prayer.  "  There  being  in  that 
town  a  great  man  who  had  long  lain  sick,  and  was  given  over 
by  the  physicians,  he  went  to  visit  him  in  his  chamber ;  and  hav- 
ing spoken  some  words  to  him,  he  was  moved  to  pray  by  the 
bedside,  and  the  Lord  was  entreated,  so  that  the  sick  man  was 
restored."  A  still  more  remarkable  case  is  recorded  by  him  in 
his  "  Journal."  "  After  some  time  I  went  to  a  meeting  at  Arn- 
side,  where  Richard  Myer  was,  who  had  long  been  lame  of  one 
of  his  arms.  I  was  moved  of  the  Lord  to  say  unto  him, 
amongst  all  the  people,  "  Stand  upon  thy  legs,"  and  he  stood 
up,  and  stretched  out  his  arm  that  had  been  lame  a  long  time, 
and  said,  "  Be  it  known  unto  you,  all  people,  that  this  day  I  am 
healed."  Yet  his  parents  would  hardly  believe  it;  but,  after  the 
meeting  was  done  they  had  him  aside,  took  off  his  doublet,  and 
then  saw  it  was  true.  He  came  soon  after  to  Swarthmore  meet- 
ing, and  there  declared  how  the  Lord  had  healed  him." 

These  cures  by  spirit  power  Fox  regarded  but  as  incidental 
objects  of  his  mission;  but  we  should  have  been  glad  to  have 
had  this  particular  record  of  others;  for  such  there  were,  and 
numerous  ones,  according  to  his  account.  "  Many  great  and 
wonderful  things  were  wrought  by  the  heavenly  power  in  those 
days;  for  the  Lord  laid  bare  his  omnipotent  arm,  and  mani- 
fested His  power  to  the  astonishment  of  many,  by  the  healing 
virtue  whereof  many  have  been  delivered  from  great  infirmities, 
and  the  devils  are  made  subject  to  his  name,  of  which  particular 
instances  might  be  given  beyond  what  this  unbelieving  age  is 
able  to  receive  or  bear."  Still  we  have  a  considerable  number 
of  instances  of  the  healing  power  of  God  exerted  in  the  early 
history  of  the  Friends.  At  Ulverstone,  Sawtrey,  the  justice  of 
the  peace,  set  the  people  upon  George  Fox,  who  beat  him  so 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  361 

terribly  with  cudgels  that  he  fell  senseless  on  the  common  to 
which  they  had  dragged  him;  but,  recovering  again,  and  being 
strengthened  by  immediate  power,  he  stood  up,  and  stretching 
out  his  arms,  said  with  a  loud  voice,  "  Strike  again ;  here  are 
my  arms,  my  head  and  my  cheeks."  Then  a  mason  gave  him 
such  a  heavy  blow  over  the  back  of  his  hand  with  his  rule  that 
it  was  much  bruised,  and  his  arm  so  benumbed  that  he  could  not 
draw  it  to  him  again,  so  that  some  of  the  people  cried  out, 
"  He  has  spoiled  his  hand  forever."  But  he,  being  preserved 
by  the  love  of  God,  stood  still,  and  after  a  while  felt  such  ex- 
traordinary strengthening  power  that  he  instantly  recovered  the 
vigor  of  his  hand  and  arm  (Sewel,  I,  yy) . 

In  the  ferocious  treatment  which  the  early  Friends  received 
they  were  often  wounded  so  desperately  that,  to  all  ordinary 
ideas,  they  never  could  recover;  but  they  bear  continual  testi- 
mony to  a  supernatural  healing,.  Miles  Halhead,  one  of  their 
preachers,  "  was  so  beaten  and  abused  at  Skipton  that  he  was 
laid  for  dead;  nevertheless,  by  the  Lord's  power  he  was  healed 
of  all  his  bruises ;  and  within  three  hours  he  was  healthy  and 
sound  again  to  the  astonishment  of  those  who  had  so  abused 
him,  and  to  the  convincing  of  many  "  (Ibid.,  p.  91).  Soon  after 
the  same  undaunted  soldier  of  Christ  was  attacked  by  a  mob  at 
Doncaster  which  was  again  urged  on  by  the  priest;  was  once 
more  knocked  down  and  beaten,  as  was  supposed,  to  death.  In 
the  evening,  however,  he  entered  a  chapel,  and,  sorely  bruised 
as  he  was,  he  preached,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  his  discourse 
"  the  Lord  made  him  sound  of  all  his  bruises  "  (p.  93).  William 
Dewsbury,  another  eminent  Quaker  minister,  was  set  upon  at 
Coldbeck  and  was  nearly  killed  by  the  mob ;  but  "  was  healed 
in  the  same  astonishing  manner  "  (p.  96).  Barbara  Blaugdone, 
a  most  courageous  female  minister,  was  so  cruelly  flogged  at 
Exeter  for  preaching  that  the  blood  flowed  all  down  her 
back;  but  she  only  sang  during  the  operation  so  that  the  en- 
raged beadle  laid  on  with  all  his  might  to  make  her  cry  out, 
but  in  vain ;  for,  says  the  historian,  "  she  was  strengthened  by 
an  uncommon  and  more  than  human  power."  She  afterwards 
declared  that  her  feeling  was  above  all  suffering. 

Another  evidence  of  the  existence  of  Christian  Spiritualism 


362  Book  of  Knowledge. 

among  the  early  Friends  was  their  power  of  seeing  into  the 
internal  state  of  people,  and  often  of  foreseeing,  through  this, 
calamities  about  to  befall  them.  Barbara  Blaugdone,  already 
mentioned,  having  a  "  concern,"  that  is,  an  impression,  in  her 
mind  to  speak  to  the  Lord-deputy  of  Ireland  regarding  the  per- 
secution of  the  Friends,  an  attempt  was  made  to  impose  upon 
her.  As  she  knew  neither  the  person  of  the  deputy  nor  those 
of  the  chief  people  about  him  when  she  was  brought  into  the 
drawing-room,  a  person  presented  himself  as  the  deputy.  She 
stood  silently,  and  the  room  being  full  of  people,  they  asked  her 
why  she  did  not  do  her  message  to  their  lord.  She  answered, 
"  When  I  see  your  lord,  then  I  shall  do  my  message  to  him." 
Her  internal  monitor  assured  her  that  this  was  not  the  deputy. 
Soon  after  he  came  in  and  sat  down,  and  she  immediately  ad- 
dressed him  on  the  subject  of  her  concern. 

George  Fox,  going  to  Hampton  Court  to  speak  with  the 
Protector  Cromwell  regarding  the  persecutions  of  the  Friends, 
met  him  riding  in  Hampton  Court  Park  and  before  he  came  to 
him  he  said  he  perceived  a  waft  of  death  to  go  forth  from  him, 
and  coming  to  him,  he  looked  like  a  dead  man.  Having  spoken 
to  Cromwell  of  the  persecutions  of  the  Friends,  he  desired  him 
to  come  to  Hampton  Court  the  next  day;  but  on  going  there, 
he  found  him  too  ill  to  be  seen,  and  in  a  day  or  two  he  died — 
September  3,  1658. 

Innumerable  instances  of  this  clairvoyance  might  be  given, 
but  I  shall  only  add  that  the  celebrated  Robert  Barclay,  author 
of  the  "  Apology,"  in  a  letter  to  Heer  Adrian  Pacts,  the  Dutch 
Ambassador  to  Spain  in  1676,  amongst  other  features  of  Quaker- 
ism, gives  some  striking  explanations  of  this  internal  sense. 
**  This  divine  and  supernatural  operation  in  the  mind  of  man  is 
a  true  and  most  glorious  miracle  which,  when  it  is  perceived  by 
the  inner  and  supernatural  sense,  divinely  raised  up  in  the  mind 
of  man,  doth  so  evidently  and  clearly  persuade  the  understand- 
ing to  assent  to  the  thing  revealed  that  there  is  no  need  of  an 
outward  miracle."  He  adds  that  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul 
is  as  convincing  as  the  truth  of  God's  being,  from  whom  it  pro- 
ceeds (Sewel,  II,  252).  "  It  is  no  less  absurd  to  require  of 
God,  who  is  a  most  pure  Spirit,  to  manifest  His  will  to  men  by 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  363 

the  outward  senses,  than  to  require  us  to  see  sounds  and  to 
hear  Hght  and  colors.  For  as  the  objects  of  the  outward  senses 
are  not  to  be  confounded,  but  every  object  is  to  have  its  proper 
sense,  so  must  one  judge  of  inward  and  spiritual  objects  which 
have  their  proper  sense  whereby  they  are  perceived.  And  tell 
me,  how  doth  God  manifest  His  will  concerning  matters  of 
fact,  when  He  sends  His  angels  to  men,  since  angels  have  no 
outward  senses,  or,  at  least,  not  so  gross  ones  as  ours  are? 
Yea,  when  men  die  and  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  God, 
whether  unto  eternal  life  or  death,  how  can  they  know  this, 
having  laid  down  their  bodies  and  therewith  their  outward 
senses  ?  Nevertheless,  the  truth  of  God  is  a  truth  of  fact,  as  is 
the  historical  truth  of  Christ's  birth  in  the  flesh."  (Ibid,  p.  253.) 
From  all  this  Barclay  contended  that  the  soul  had  its  own 
senses,  as  distinct  from  the  outward  senses  as  the  natural  senses 
are  distinguished  from  each  other  by  their  specific  difference, 
and  that  it  is  through  these  senses  that  God,  a  spirit,  directly 
addresses  the  human  soul. 

Robert  Barclay  had  a  prognostic  of  the  murder  of  Arch- 
bishop Sharpe.  It  is  thus  recorded  by  his  son,  Robert  Barclay, 
of  Urie :  "  On  the  third  day  of  May,  as  he  was  travelling  home 
from  Edinburgh  in  his  coach.  Archbishop  Sharpe  was  mur- 
dered; it  being  very  remarkable  that,  some  days  before  the 
murder,  Robert  Barclay,  being  upon  a  journey  to  the  yearly 
meetings  at  Edinburgh,  in  company  with  his  wife's  sister,  and 
they  being  on  horseback,  at  the  East  Ferry,  as  they  passed  by 
the  kirk  which  belonged  to  the  archbishop,  close  to  the  end  of 
the  town,  they  heard  a  most  terrifying  howling  noise  which  was 
astonishing.  Upon  which,  they  sent  the  servant  to  look  into 
the  church  through  the  windows.  Who  could  then  perceive  noth- 
ing, but  no  sooner  returned  to  them  than  the  noise  began  again, 
and  continued  till  they  rode  out  of  hearing.  This  account  both 
he  and  his  sister  gave  immediately  after,  and  she  in  my  hearing 
repeated  the  same,  but  a  few  years  ago,  to  a  company  visiting 
her  at  her  own  house  in  Newcastle,  consisting  of  Quakers  and 
others.     This  I  mention  as  a  fact  without  any  other  reflection." 

The  early  Friends  declare  in  many  places  that  they  heard 
internal  voices  as  clear  and  distinct  as  outward  voices.     The 


364  Book  of  Knowledge, 

wife  of  Miles  Halhead,  who  had  been  greatly  opposed  to  his 
leaving  his  home  so  much  to  travel  in  the  ministry,  at  length 
wrote  to  him,  "  Truly,  husband,  I  have  something  to  tell  thee. 
One  night,  being  in  bed  mourning  and  lamenting  with  tears  in 
my  eyes,  I  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Why  art  thou  so  discontented 
concerning  thy  husband  ?  I  have  called  and  chosen  him  to  my 
work,  and  my  right  hand  shall  uphold  him."  It  went  on  to 
say,  that,  if  she  became  content,  it  would  bless  her  and  her 
children  for  her  husband's  sake ;  if  not,  it  would  bring  a  great 
cross  upon  her.  This  alarmed  her,  but  did  not  cure  her,  and 
her  only  son  was  soon  after  taken  from  her  by  death.  Then 
she  saw  the  cross  menaced,  and  submitted  to  God's  will."  (Ibid. 
I,  92.)  Marmaduke  Stevenson,  one  of  the  Friends  hanged  by 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  says  he  heard  a  distinct  voice  saying,  "  I 
have  ordained  thee  a  prophet  to  the  nations."  Catherine  Evans, 
who,  with  her  companion,  Sarah  Cheevers,  was  thrown  into  the 
Inquisition  at  Malta,  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Ye  shall  not  die !  " 
and  on  that  voice  they  calmly  relied,  and,  after  many  sufferings 
and  threatenings,  came  out  safe.  When  some  English  ships 
arrived,  and  endeavors  were  made  for  their  liberation,  the  voice 
distinctly  said  they  could  not  go  yet;  and  then,  spite  of  all 
efforts  at  that  time,  it  proved  so. 

Visions  were  as  frequent  amongst  them  as  voices.  George 
Fox  says  that,  going  up  to  the  top  of  Pendle  Hill,  in  Yorkshire, 
"  the  Lord  opened  to  him  and  let  him  see  a  great  people  to  be 
gathered  in  those  parts,  and  especially  about  Wensleydale  and 
Sedberg.  He  saw  them  in  white  raiment  coming  along  a  river 
side  to  serve  the  Lord." 

Catherine  Evans,  already  mentioned,  whilst  in  the  Inquisi- 
tion at  Malta,  and  threatened  with  being  burnt  alive  with  her 
companion,  and  being  kept  in  suspense  for  several  days  on  this 
subject,  saw  "  in  a  dream  a  large  room,  and  a  great  wood  fire 
in  the  chimney;  and  she  beheld  one  sitting  in  the  chair  by  the 
fire  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  whom  she  took  to  be  the  Eternal 
Son  of  God.  Likewise  she  saw  a  very  amiable,  well-favored 
man-child  sitting  in  a  hollow  chair  over  the  fire,  not  appearing 
to  be  above  three-quarters  of  a  year  old,  and  having  no  clothes 
on  but  a  little  fine  linen  about  the  upper  parts,  and  the  fire 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  365 

flamed  above  it,  yet  the  child  played  and  was  merry ;  she  would 
then  have  taken  it  up  for  fear  it  should  have  been  burnt,  but  He 
that  sat  in  the  chair  bade  her  let  it  alone.  Then  turning  about, 
she  saw  an  angel,  and  he  that  sat  in  the  chair  bade  her  take  up 
the  child,  which  she  did,  and  found  it  had  no  harm;  and  then 
awakening,  she  told  her  dream  to  Sarah,  and  desired  her  not 
to  fear,  since  the  heavenly  host  thus  followed  them."  (Sewel,  I, 
406.) 

Daniel  Baker,  a  minister  who  went  to  Malta  to  obtain  the 
release  of  these  ladies,  had  a  mountain  shown  to  him  in  a  dream 
where  he  had  to  deliver  a  testimony ;  on  coming  to  Gibraltar  he 
saw  that  this  was  the  very  mountain,  and,  though  the  captain 
of  the  vessel  would  not  consent  to  his  going  on  shore,  the  ships 
were  detained  there  wind-bound  till  he  was  allowed  to  go  and 
deliver  his  message,  and  on  the  next  day  a  fair  wind  sprang 
up  and  the  fleet  set  sail. 

When  the  Turks  were  making  great  progress  against 
Austria,  George  Fox  saw  a  vision  of  the  Turk  turned  back,  and 
told  his  friends  that  this  would  be  the  case ;  and  in  a  few  months, 
contrary  to  general  expectation,  it  took  place.  James  Nayler, 
warned  by  what  befell  him,  cautioned  Friends  to  try  their 
visions,  etc.,  by  the  inward  test  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  "  If  there 
appear  to  thee  voices,  visions,  and  revelations,  feed  not  thereon, 
but  abide  in  the  light  and  feel  the  body  of  Christ,  and  therewith 
thou  shalt  receive  faith  and  power  to  judge  of  every  appearance 
and  spirits,  the  good  to  hold  fast  and  obey,  and  the  false  to 
resist."    Sound  advice,  and  that  of  St.  John. 

Another  gift  of  the  Church,  the  spirit  of  prophesy,  was  liber- 
ally conferred  on  Fox  and  the  Friends.  At  Gainsborough  a 
man  having  uttered  a  very  false  accusation  against  Fox  he 
called  him  a  Judas,  and  announced  that  Judas'  end  would  be 
his.  The  fellow  soon  after  hanged  himself,  and  a  stake  was 
driven  into  his  grave.  At  Swarthmore  he  announced  to  Saw- 
trey,  the  persecuting  magistrate,  that  God  had  shortened  his 
days,  and  that  he  could  not  escape  his  doom.  The  man  drowned 
himself.  A  similar  doom  he  announced  to  another  persecutor, 
Colonel  Needham,  whose  son  desired  him  to  cut  him  off,  and 
who  sent  him  prisoner  to  Cromwell.     Needham  was  hanged  as 


366  Book  of  Knowledge. 

one  of  the  judges  of  Charles  I.  Thomas  Aldam,  a  minister 
among  Friends  who  had  in  vain  protested  against  the  persecu- 
tions under  Cromwell,  took  off  his  cap,  tore  it  to  pieces  in  his 
presence,  and  told  him  so  should  the  government  be  rent  from 
him  and  his  house.  George  Bishop,  a  minister,  in  a  letter  dated 
September  25,  1664,  to  the  king  and  two  houses  of  Parliament, 
distinctly  predicted  the  plague  of  London,  which  broke  out  in 
December  of  the  same  year,  and  swept  away  one  hundred  thou- 
sand people.  As  it  is  short  and  decided,  we  may  as  well  quote 
it  entire :  "  To  the  King  and  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  thus 
saith  the  Lord :  '  Meddle  not  with  my  people  because  of  their 
conscience  to  me,  and  banish  them  not  out  of  the  nation  because 
of  their  conscience;  for  if  ye  do,  I  will  send  my  plagues  upon 
you,  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord ! '  Written  in 
obedience  to  the  Lord  by  his  servant,  George  Bishop;  Bristol, 
the  twenty-fifth  of  the  ninth  month,  1664." 

George  Fox  predicted  the  desolation  of  London  some  years 
before  the  fire  took  place;  but  two  of  his  disciples  again  pre- 
dicted it  more  distinctly  still.  Thomas  Briggs  went  through 
Cheapside  and  other  streets,  preaching  repentance  to  the  in- 
habitants, and  declaring,  like  Jonah  at  Nineveh,  that  unless 
they  repented  London  should  be  destroyed. 

The  system  of  the  Friends  was  entirely  so  spiritual  a  system, 
that  they  could  not  make  a  single  religious  movement  without 
spiritual  guidance.  It  compelled  them  to  refrain  from  all  out- 
ward manufacture  of  ministers;  God  alone  could  make  and 
qualify  such.  They  were  compelled  to  refrain  from  all  forms, 
formulas,  rituals  and  ceremonies.  They  could  only  sit  down 
together,  and  receive  the  ministrations  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  As 
that  Spirit  is  promised  to  all  who  sincerely  seek  it,  there  could 
be  no  exceptions  from  its  operations  and  endowments.  As  God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,  so  there  could  be  no  difference  of 
ranks  and  titles  in  the  Church  except  such  as  He  individually 
put  on  His  members.  The  Friends  could  neither  pray  nor 
preach  without  immediate  influence  from  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
However  much  the  Society  has  since  changed,  however  much 
it  has  since  lost,  however  much  it  has  cooled  in  its  zeal  and  con- 
formed to  the  spirit  of  the  world ;  however  much  the  growth  of 


George  Fox  and  the  Friends.  367 

wealth  has  corrupted  it,  it  has  never  abandoned  its  faith  in  the 
purely  spiritual  nature  of  its  jurisdiction.  Those  who  of  late 
have  seen  it  relaxing  certain  strictnesses,  abandoning  certain 
forms  of  costume,  opening  itself  up  to  more  liberal  views  of  art 
and  science,  and  social  life,  and  have  imagined  that  the  day  of 
Quakerism  was  drawing  to  a  close  were  never  more  mistaken. 
Quakerism,  being  simply  and  solely  primitive  Christianity,  can 
never  die  out.  As  it  never  could  be  circumscribed  within  the 
bounds  of  a  sect — George  Fox  never  wished  it  to  be  so — so  the 
sect  of  Quakers  may  perish,  but  its  principles  must  eternally 
remain.  Those  proclaimed  by  Fox  and  his  Friends  have  now 
gone  out  from  them  into  all  bodies  of  the  Christian  world.  The 
doctrine  of  the  immediate  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  of  the 
anti-Christianity  of  war,  of  slavery,  of  the  pride  of  life,  of  the 
emptiness  and  deadness  of  all  mere  ecclesiastical  forms;  the 
doctrines  of  the  true  baptism  being  the  baptism  of  the  Spirit, 
the  true  Lord's  Supper  the  daily  feeding  on  the  bread  of  life, 
which,  like  the  manna  in  the  wilderness,  is  spread  every  day 
before  every  soul.  These  doctrines  have  gone  forth,  or  are 
going  forth  from  the  Society  of  Fox,  never  to  return  till  they 
reach  the  ends  of  all  the  earth. 

Never  did  a  Christian  body  hold  so  firmly  to  their  standard 
of  truth  against  the  scorn  and  the  scornings  of  the  world.  Firm 
in  their  faith,  no  terrors,  not  those  of  death,  could  daunt  them 
for  a  moment.  When  all  other  sects  complied,  they  stood  im- 
movable, even  to  the  smallest  iota  of  conscientious  conviction; 
and  they  were  the  first  to  wring  from  the  government  the  rights 
of  marrying  and  burying,  and  exemptions  from  oaths,  with  other 
privileges.  They  gave  to  Christian  testimony  a  more  manly 
stamp.  The  very  name  of  Quaker  became  the  highest  of 
burlesques;  for  they  never  quaked  at  whatever  man  or  tyrant 
could  inflict  upon  them.  They  who  nicknamed  them  so  were, 
in  fact,  the  Quakers. 

This  high  and  entirely  spiritual  nature  of  Quakerism  has 
exhibited  itself  in  every  period  of  its  existence  down  to  this 
hour.  I  could  bring  a  whole  volume  of  instances  of  the  acting 
of  the  Friends  under  immediate  spiritual  guidance.  William 
Penn,  in  founding  Pennsylvania,  showed  his  practical  reliance 


368  Book  of  Knowledge. 

on  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament.  When  all  other 
settlers  declared  the  American  Indians  not  to  be  trusted ;  when 
Cotton  Mather,  a  minister  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  declared 
them  to  be  the  children  of  the  devil,  and  that,  if  he  had  a  pen 
made  of  a  porcupine's  quill  and  dipped  in  aquafortis,  he  could 
not  describe  all  their  devilishness ;  when  they  were  hunted  down 
by  so-called  Christians  with  bloodhounds,  and  exterminated 
with  fire  and  sword,  Penn  went  to  them  unarmed,  in  Christian 
kindness,  and  made  that  just  treaty  with  them  which  Voltaire 
says  was  the  only  treaty  ever  made  without  an  oath,  and  the 
only  one  never  broken.  I  must,  however,  refer  the  reader  to 
the  lives  and  works  of  Friends  of  all  periods  for  plenty  of  spirit- 
ual manifestations.  Instances  of  the  ministers,  in  their  preach- 
ing, having  particular  states  suddenly  communicated  to  them, 
and  their  preventing  suicides  and  other  crimes,  are  frequent. 
Extraordinary  providences,  and  rescues  from  imminent  peril 
are  of  common  record  amongst  Friends.  John  Roberts,  of  Cir- 
encester, used  to  be  consulted  by  his  neighbors  on  the  loss  of 
cattle,  etc.;  and  after  a  short  silence  he  would  invariably  tell 
them  where  to  find  them.  See  also  the  lives  of  John  Woolman, 
Davis  Sands,  of  Stephen  Grellet,  a  minister  whom  I  knew,  and 
whose  memoirs  have  been  recently  published ;  of  Elizabeth  Fry, 
or,  indeed,  the  life  of  almost  any  one  of  the  ministers  and  emi- 
nent men  amongst  them  at  all  times.  As  no  denomination  of 
Christians  has  ever  recurred  so  fully  and  firmly  to  the  primitive 
practice  and  condition  of  the  Christian  Church,  so  none  has  re- 
ceived more  brilliant  and  convincing  proofs  that  the  gospel  in 
which  they  trusted  is  no  cunningly  devised  fable.  The  prom- 
ises, by  Christ,  of  supernatural  powers  to  his  Church,  have  been 
believed  and  fully  demonstrated  amongst  the  Friends. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

THE   WESLEYS,   WHITEFIELD   AND   FLETCHER  OF 

MADELEY. 

"  All  cannot  fail  to  be  reminded  of  the  necessity  of  a  farther 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God." 

The  Bishop  of  London,  1859. 
"  My  serious  belief  amounts  to  this — that  preternatural  im- 
pressions are  sometimes  communicated  to  us  for  wise  purposes, 
and  that  departed  spirits  are  sometimes  permitted  to  manifest 
themselves." 

Southey's  Colloquies. 

"  And  what  is  strangest  upon  this  strange  head 
Is,  that,  whatever  bar  the  reason  rears 
'Gainst  such  belief,  there's  something  stranger  still 
In  its  behalf,  let  those  deny  who  will." 

Lord  Byron. 

The  rapidity  with  which  vital  religion  dies  out,  under  a 
political  machinery  for  perpetuating  it,  is  most  strikingly  mani- 
fested in  our  own  history  since  the  Reformation.  We  have  seen 
what  was  its  condition  a  hundred  years  after  Henry  VIIL,  not- 
withstanding the  hammerings  and  contrivings  of  those  royal 
church  masons  and  carpenters,  the  Tudors  and  the  Stuarts.  Fox 
and  his  friends,  Baxter  and  Bunyan,  revived  its  life  for  a  while ; 
but  the  religious  temperature  fell  fast  again  till  the  time  of 
Wesley  and  Whitefield;  and  what  it  was  then,  Watson,  in  his 
admirable  criticism  on  Southey's  "  Life  of  Wesley,"  tells  us. 
It  had  not  only  fallen  from  itself  but  had  pulled  down  the  dis- 
senting vis  vitcB  with  it.  "  The  body  of  the  clergy,"  he  says, 
"  neither  knew  nor  cared  about  systems  of  any  kind ;  in  a  vast 


370  Book  of  Knowledge. 

number  of  instances  they  were  immoral,  often  grossly  so.  The 
populace  in  large  towns  were  ignorant  and  profligate;  the  in- 
habitants of  villages  added  to  ignorance  and  profligacy,  brutish 
and  barbarous  manners.  A  more  striking  instance  of  the  rapid 
deterioration  of  religious  light  and  influence  in  a  country  scarcely 
occurs,  than  in  ours  from  the  Restoration  till  the  rise  of  Method- 
ism. It  affected  not  only  the  Church  but  the  dissenting  sects  in 
no  ordinary  degree.  The  Presbyterians  had  commenced  their 
course  through  Arianism  down  to  Socinianism;  and  those  who 
held  the  doctrines  of  Calvin  had,  in  too  many  instances,  by  a 
course  of  hot-house  planting,  luxuriated  them  into  the  fatal  and 
disgusting  errors  of  Antinomianism.  There  were  exceptions; 
but  this  was  the  general  state  of  religion  and  morals  in  the  coun- 
try when  the  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  a  few  kindred  spirits  went 
forth  to  sacrifice  ease,  reputation,  and  even  life  itself  if  necessary, 
to  produce  a  reformation."     (p.  129.) 

Every  successive  attempt  to  break  up  this  religious  torpor, 
to  renew  Christian  life  in  the  public,  has  been  violently  opposed 
by  the  Established  Church.  We  have  seen  how  it  treated  Fox 
and  his  Friends,  how  it  treated  Baxter  and  Bunyan;  we  have 
now  to  see  how  it  greeted  the  spiritual  life-breathing  of  Wesley, 
Whitefield,  and  their  contemporaries  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
That  such  men  should  be  met  by  scorn,  misrepresentation,  and 
persecution,  is  the  direct  proof  of  the  great  need  of  their  appear- 
ance. To  say  that  a  man  is  a  religious  reformer  is  to  say  that  he 
is  a  Spiritualist.  Nothing  but  a  "new  outpouring  of  the  Divine 
Spirit "  can  awake  life  in  the  dry  bones  of  defunct  profession,  in 
the  freezing  masses  of  materialism  and  worldly  debasement. 
Wesley,  W^hitefield  and  their  fellow-apostles,  produced  a  wonder- 
ful change  in  the  religious  character  of  their  age,  and  have  left 
lasting  and  beneficent  traces  of  their  labors  in  the  public  mind. 
They  aroused  even  the  stagnant  Church  which  abused  and  re- 
jected them.  A  new  and  commendable  activity  has  ever  since 
been  visible  in  the  establishment.  It  has  exercised  a  greater  moral 
control  over  its  clergy  and  has  entered  into  a  zealous  competition 
with  Dissenters  for  the  education  of  the  people;  but  again,  this 
very  activity  had  degenerated  into  a  morbid  condition,  having 
no  claims  to  a  genuine  spiritualistic  character.     It  is  running 


The  Wesleys,  White-field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.      371 

wildly  into  two  extremes;  the  one  of  forms  and  rituals,  tending 
to  the  outward;  the  other  of  infidel  rationalism.  Between  these 
we  look  in  vain  for  the  ancient  spirit  of  the  gospel,  which  claims 
boldly  the  heritage  of  apostolic  powers ;  and  works  in  that  over- 
shadowing of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  made  the  mighty  preachers 
of  all  times  and  can  alone  cause  the  waters  of  eternal  life  to 
gush  from  the  cold  rocks  of  our  daily  calculating  world.  The 
formalism  and  the  learnedness  of  the  mere  letter  that  killeth, 
which  are  the  great  features  of  our  time,  must  perish  in  some 
new  "  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,"  or  Christianity  must  perish  al- 
together. This  hybrid  state  is,  from  the  very  laws  of  nature,  a 
barren  state  and  tends  to  death.  But  the  plan  of  Providence 
cannot  be  impeded  by  the  selfishness  and  grossness  of  men  and 
their  institutions;  new  and  unlooked-for  outbreaks  of  the  invis- 
ible strength  of  the  ages  will  take  place;  and,  amid  the  clouds 
and  hissing  winds  that  accompany  them,  herald  new  spiritual 
springs.  Let  us  encourage  our  faith  by  reviving  the  circum- 
stances of  the  despised  but  triumphant  advent  of  Methodism. 

John  Wesley  was  cradled  in  the  very  abode  of  the  super- 
natural; haunting  spirits  surrounded  his  childhoods'  pillow  and 
walked  beside  him  in  his  school-boy  rounds.  The  extraordinary 
events  which  took  place  in  the  parsonage  of  his  father  at  Ep- 
worth,  in  Lincolnshire,  and  which  were  attested  not  only  by  Mr. 
Wesley  and  Mrs.  Wesley,  but  by  every  member  of  the  family 
which  was  present  at  the  time,  have  acquired  a  world-wide 
notoriety;  and  it  were  as  easy  to  deny  the  existence  of  the 
Wesley  family  itself  as  to  deny  these  manifestations.  No  case  of 
spiritual  disturbance  was  ever  thoroughly  proved  and  that  by 
such  a  number  of  persons  of  education  and  of  freedom  from  su- 
perstition. We  have  the  written  accounts  in  narratives  and 
letters  of  Mr.  Wesley  himself,  the  father  of  John  Wesley,  and 
incumbent  of  Ep worth,  who  kept  a  regular  diary  of  the  occur- 
rences; of  Mrs.  Wesley  in  four  letters  to  her  sons,  who  were  at 
the  time  at  school  at  Westminster  and  the  Charterhouse ;  in  letters 
from  six  of  the  Miss  Wesleys  to  their  brothers.  We  have  the 
written  account  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hoole,  the  vicar  of  Haxey,  an 
adjoining  parish,  who  was  called  in  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  hear  the 
noises;  and  the  account  of  Robin  Brown,  the  man-servant,  in  a 


37^  Book  of  Knowledge. 

letter  to  John  Wesley.  All  these  evidences  will  be  found  at 
length  in  the  notes  of  the  first  volume  of  Southey's  "  Life  of 
Wesley."  I  shall  therefore  content  myself  with  copying  John 
Wesley's  narrative  of  these  disturbances,  based  on  these  docu- 
ments and  on  personal  inquiries  on  the  spot.  This  narrative  was 
published  by  him  in  the  Armenian  Magazine, 

*' When  I  was  very  young  I  heard  several  letters  read,  wrote 
to  my  elder  brother  by  my  father,  giving  an  account  of  strange 
disturbances  which  were  in  his  house  at  Epworth,  in  Lincoln- 
shire. 

"  When  I  went  down  thither  in  the  year  1720,  I  carefully  in- 
quired into  the  particulars.  I  spoke  to  each  of  the  persons  who 
were  then  in  the  house,  and  I  took  down  what  each  could  testify 
of  his  or  her  own  knowledge ;  the  sum  of  which  was  this : 

"  On  December  2,  171 6,  while  Robert  Brown,  my  father's 
servant,  was  sitting  with  one  of  the  maids,  a  little  before  ten  at 
night,  in  the  dining-room,  which  opened  into  the  garden,  they 
both  heard  a  knocking  at  the  door.  Robert  rose  and  opened  it 
but  could  see  nobody.  Quickly  it  knocked  again  and  groaned. 
*  It  is  for  Mr.  Turpine,'  said  Robert,  *  he  has  the  stone  and  used 
to  groan  so.'  He  opened  the  door  again,  twice  or  thrice  repeated. 
But  still  seeing  nothing  and  being  a  little  startled  they  rose  and 
went  up  to  bed.  When  Robert  came  to  the  top  of  the  garret 
stairs  he  saw  a  hand-mill,  which  was  at  a  little  distance,  whirled 
about  very  swiftly.  When  he  related  this,  he  said,  *  Nought  vexed 
me  but  that  it  was  empty.  I  thought,  if  it  had  been  full  of  malt, 
he  might  have  ground  his  heart  out  for  me.'  When  he  was  in 
bed  he  said  he  heard,  as  it  were,  a  gobbling  of  a  turkey-cock  close 
to  his  bedside;  and  soon  after  the  sound  of  one  tumbling  over 
his  boots  and  shoes ;  but  there  were  none  there ;  he  had  left  them 
below.  The  next  day  he  and  the  maid  related  these  things  to 
the  other  maid  who  laughed  heartily,  and  said,  *  What  a  couple 
of  fools  you  are !  I  defy  the  thing  to  frighten  me.'  After  churn- 
ing in  the  evening  she  put  the  butter  in  the  tray  and  had  no 
sooner  carried  it  into  the  dairy  than  she  heard  a  knocking  on  the 
shelf  where  several  pancheons  of  milk  stood,  first  above  the  shelf 
then  below.  She  took  the  candle  and  searched  both  above  and 
below ;  but  being  able  to  find  nothing  threw  down  butter,  tray  and 


The  WesleySy  White  field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       373 

all  and  ran  away  for  life.  The  next  evening  between  five  and  six 
o'clock,  my  sister  Molly,  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  sitting 
in  the  dining-room  reading,  heard  as  if  it  were  the  door  that 
led  into  the  hall  open  and  a  person  walking  in  that  seemed  to  have 
on  a  silk  night-gown  rustling  and  trailing  along.  It  seemed  to 
walk  round  her  then  to  the  door  then  round  again ;  but  she  could 
see  nothing.  She  thought,  *  It  signifies  nothing  to  run  away ; 
for  whatever  it  is  it  can  run  faster  than  I.'  So  she  rose  put  her 
book  under  her  arm  and  walked  slowly  away.  After  supper  she 
was  sitting  with  my  sister  Sukey,  about  a  year  older  than  her- 
self, in  one  of  the  chambers  and  telling  her  what  had  happened ; 
she  made  quite  light  of  it ;  telling  her, '  I  wonder  you  are  so  easily 
frightened :  I  would  fain  see  what  would  frighten  me.'  Presently 
a  knocking  began  under  the  table ;  she  took  the  candle  and  looked 
but  could  see  nothing.  Then  the  iron  casement  began  to  clatter 
and  the  lid  of  a  warming-pan.  Next  the  latch  of  a  door  moved 
up  and  down  without  ceasing.  She  started  up,  leaped  into  bed 
without  undressing,  pulled  the  bed-clothes  over  her  head,  and 
never  ventured  to  look  up  till  morning.  A  night  or  two  after, 
my  sister  Kitty,  a  year  younger  than  my  sister  Molly,  was  waiting 
as  usual,  between  nine  and  ten,  to  take  away  my  father's  candle 
when  she  heard  some  one  coming  down  the  garret  stairs,  walk- 
ing slowly  by  her,  then  going  down  the  best  stairs,  then  up  the 
back  stairs  and  up  the  garret  stairs ;  and  at  every  step  it  seemed 
the  house  shook  from  top  to  bottom.  Just  then  my  father 
knocked;  she  went  in,  took  his  candle,  and  got  to  bed  as  fast  as 
possible.  In  the  morning  she  told  this  to  my  eldest  sister  who 
told  her,  *  You  know  I  believe  nothing  of  these  things ;  pray  let 
me  take  away  the  candle  to-night  and  I  will  find  out  the  trick.' 
She  accordingly  took  my  sister  Kitty's  place  and  had  no  sooner 
taken  away  the  candle  than  she  heard  a  noise  below.  She  has- 
tened down  stairs  to  the  hall  where  the  noise  was,  but  it  was  then 
in  the  kitchen,  where  it  was  drumming  on  the  inside  of  the 
screen.  When  she  went  round  it  was  drumming  on  the  outside 
and  so  always  on  the  side  opposite  to  her.  Then  she  heard  a 
knocking  at  the  back  kitchen  door;  she  ran  to  it,  unlocked  it 
softly,  and  when  the  knocking  was  repeated,  suddenly  opened  it 
but  nothing  was  to  be  seen.    As  soon  as  she  had  shut  it  the  knock- 


374  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ing  began  again;  she  opened  it  again  but  could  see  nothing. 
When  she  went  to  shut  the  door  it  was  violently  thrust  against 
her;  she  let  it  fly  open  but  nothing  appeared.  She  went  to  shut 
it  and  it  was  thrust  against  her;  but  she  set  her  knee  and  her 
shoulder  to  the  door,  forced  it  to,  and  turned  the  key.  Then  the 
knocking  began  again  but  she  let  it  go  on  and  went  to  bed. 
However,  from  that  time,  she  was  thoroughly  convinced  that  there 
was  no  imposture  in  the  affair. 

"  The  next  morning,  my  sister  telling  my  mother  what  had 
happened,  she  said,  *  If  I  hear  anything  myself  I  shall  know  how 
to  judge.'  Soon  after,  she  (Emily)  begged  her  to  come  into  the 
nursery.  She  did,  and  heard  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  as  it 
were,  the  violent  rocking  of  a  cradle ;  but  no  cradle  had  been  there 
for  some  years.  She  was  convinced  it  was  preternatural  and 
earnestly  prayed  it  might  not  disturb  her  in  her  own  chamber  at 
the  hours  of  retirement  and  it  never  did.  She  now  thought  it 
was  proper  to  tell  my  father;  but  he  was  extremely  angry  and 
said,  '  Sukey,  I  am  ashamed  of  you ;  these  boys  and  girls  frighten 
one  another  but  you  are  a  woman  of  sense  and  should  know 
better.  Let  me  hear  of  it  no  more.'  At  six  in  the  evening  he  had 
family  prayers  as  usual.  When  he  began  the  prayers  for  the 
king  a  knocking  began  all  around  the  room  and  a  thundering 
knock  attended  the  Amen.  The  same  was  heard  from  this  time 
every  morning  and  evening  while  the  prayer  for  the  king  was 
repeated.  As  both  my  father  and  mother  are  now  at  rest,  and 
incapable  of  being  pained  thereby,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  furnish 
the  serious  reader  with  a  key  to  this  circumstance. 

"  The  year  before  King  William  died  my  father  observed  my 
mother  did  not  say  Amen  to  the  prayer  for  the  king.  She  said 
she  could  not  for  she  did  not  believe  the  Prince  of  Orange  was 
king.  He  vowed  he  would  never  live  with  her  till  she  did.  He 
then  took  his  horse  and  rode  away,  nor  did  she  hear  anything  of 
him  for  a  twelvemonth.  He  then  came  back  and  lived  with  her 
as  before,  but  I  fear  his  vow  was  not  forgotten  before  God. 

"  Being  informed  that  Mr.  Hoole,  the  vicar  of  Haxey,  an 
eminently  pious  and  sensible  man,  could  give  me  some  further 
information  I  walked  over  to  him.  He  said,  '  Robert  Brown  came 
over  to  me  and  told  me  your  father  desired  my  company.    When 


The  Wesley s,  White  field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley       375 

I  came  he  gave  me  an  account  of  all  which  had  happened  partic- 
ularly the  knocking  during  family  prayers.  But  that  evening,  to 
my  great  satisfaction,  we  had  no  knocking  at  all.  But  between 
nine  and  ten  a  servant  came  in  and  said  '  Old  Jeffery  is  coming  ' — 
that  was  the  name  of  one  that  died  in  the  house — '  for  I  hear  the 
signal.*  This,  they  informed  me,  was  heard  every  night  about  a 
quarter  before  ten.  It  was  towards  the  top  of  the  house  on  the 
outside,  at  the  northeast  corner,  resembling  the  loud  creaking 
of  a  saw,  or  rather,  that  of  a  windmill  when  the  body  of  it  is 
turned  about  in  order  to  shift  the  sails  to  the  wind.  We  then 
heard  a  knocking  over  our  heads,  and  Mr.  Wesley  catching  up  a 
candle,  said,  '  Come,  sir,  now  you  shall  hear  for  yourself.'  We 
went  up  stairs ;  he  with  much  hope,  and  I,  to  say  the  truth,  with 
much  fear.  When  we  came  into  the  nursery  it  was  knocking  in 
the  next  room;  when  we  were  there  it  was  knocking  in  the 
nursery.  And  there  it  continued  to  knock,  though  we  came  in, 
particularly  at  the  head  of  the  bed,  which  was  of  wood,  in  which 
Miss  Hetty  and  two  of  her  younger  sisters  lay.  Mr.  Wesley, 
observing  that  they  were  much  affected,  though  asleep,  sweating 
and  trembling  exceedingly,  was  very  angry,  and,  pulling  out  a 
pistol,  was  going  to  fire  at  the  place  from  whence  the  sound  came. 
But  I  caught  him  by  the  arm  and  said,  '  Sir,  you  are  convinced 
this  is  something  preternatural.  If  so  you  cannot  hurt  it;  but 
you  give  it  power  to  hurt  you.'  He  then  went  close  to  the  place 
and  said  sternly,  *  Thou  deaf  and  dumb  devil,  why  dost  thou 
fright  these  children  that  cannot  answer  for  themselves?  Come 
to  me  in  my  study,  that  am  a  man.'  Instantly  it  knocked  his 
knock — the  particular  one  which  he  always  used  at  the  gate — as 
if  it  would  shiver  the  board  in  pieces,  and  we  heard  nothing  more 
that  night. 

"  Till  this  time  my  father  had  never  heard  the  least  disturb- 
ance in  his  study;  but  the  next  evening,  as  he  attempted  to  go 
into  his  study,  of  which  none  had  any  key  but  himself,  when  he 
opened  the  door  it  was  thrust  back  with  such  violence  as  had 
like  to  have  thrown  him  down.  However,  he  thrust  the  door 
open,  and  went  in.  Presently  there  was  a  knocking  first  on  one 
side  then  on  the  other ;  and,  after  a  time,  in  the  next  room  where- 
in my  sister  Nancy  was.    He  went  into  that  room,  and  the  noise 


376  Book  of  Knowledge. 

continuing,  adjured  it  to  speak,  but  in  vain.  He  then  said,  *  These 
spirits  love  darkness,  put  out  the  candle  and  perhaps  it  will  speak/ 
She  did  so  and  he  repeated  his  adjurgation;  but  still  there  was 
only  knocking  and   no  articulate   sound.     Upon   this  he   said, 

*  Nancy,  two  Christians  are  an  overmatch  for  the  devil.  Go  all 
of  you  downstairs;  it  may  be  when  I  am  alone  it  will  have 
the  courage  to  speak.'  When  she  was  gone  a  thought  came  in 
and  he  said, '  If  thou  art  the  spirit  of  my  son  Samuel,  I  pray  thee 
knock  three  knocks  and  no  more.'  Immediately  all  was  silence 
and  there  was  no  more  knocking  all  that  night.  I  asked  my 
sister  Nancy,  then  about  fifteen  years  old,  whether  she  was  not 
afraid  when  my  father  used  that  adjuration?  She  answered  she 
was  sadly  afraid  it  would  speak  when  she  put  out  the  candle; 
but  she  was  not  at  all  afraid  in  the  daytime,  when  it  walked  after 
her  as  she  swept  the  chambers,  as  it  constantly  did,  and  seemed 
to  sweep  after  her.  Only  she  thought  he  might  have  done  it  for 
her  and  saved  her  the  trouble.  By  this  time  all  my  family  were 
so  accustomed  to  these  noises  that  they  gave  them  little  disturb- 
ance. A  gentle  tapping  at  their  bed-head  usually  began  between 
nine  and  ten  at  night.    Then  they  commonly  said  to  each  other, 

*  Jeffery  is  coming  it  is  time  to  go  to  sleep.'  And  if  they  heard 
a  noise  in  the  day  and  said  to  my  youngest  sister,  '  Hark,  Kezzy, 
Jeffery  is  knocking  above,'  she  would  run  upstairs  and  pursue  it 
from  room  to  room,  saying  she  desired  no  better  diversion. 

"A  few  nights  after,  my  father  and  mother  were  just  gone 
to  bed,  and  the  candle  was  not  taken  away,  when  they  heard 
three  blows,  and  a  second  and  a  third  three,  as  it  were,  with  a 
large  oaken  staff,  struck  upon  a  chest  which  stood  by  the  bedside. 
My  father  immediately  rose,  and  hearing  great  noises  below,  took 
the  candle  and  went  down;  my  mother  walked  by  his  side.  As 
they  went  down  the  broad  stairs,  they  heard  as  if  a  vessel  full  of 
silver  was  poured  upon  my  mother's  breast  and  ran  jingling  down 
to  her  feet.  Quickly  after  there  was  a  sound  as  if  a  large  iron 
ball  was  thrown  among  many  bottles  under  the  stairs ;  but  nothing 
was  hurt.  Soon  after  our  large  mastiff  dog  came  and  ran  to 
shelter  himself  between  them.  When  the  disturbances  continued, 
he  used  to  bark  and  leap  and  snap  on  one  side  and  on  the  other, 
and  that  frequently  before  any  person  in  the  room  heard  any 


The  Wesley  s,  White  field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley,       377 

noise  at  all.  But  after  two  or  three  days  he  used  to  tremble 
and  creep  away  before  the  noise  began;  and  by  this  the  family 
knew  it  was  at  hand,  nor  did  the  observation  ever  fail.  A  little 
before  my  father  and  mother  came  into  the  hall,  it  seemed  as  if 
a  very  large  coal  was  violently  thrown  upon  the  floor,  and  dashed 
all  in  pieces;  but  nothing  was  seen.  My  father  then  cried  out, 
*  Sukey,  do  you  not  hear  that  ?  All  the  pewter  is  thrown  about 
the  kitchen.'  But  when  they  looked  all  the  pewter  stood  in  its 
place.  Then  there  was  a  loud  knocking  at  the  back  door.  My 
father  opened  it  but  saw  nothing.  It  was  then  at  the  front  door. 
He  opened  that  but  it  still  was  lost  labor.  After  opening  first 
the  one  then  the  other  several  times,  he  turned  and  went  up  to 
bed.  But  the  noises  were  so  violent  all  over  the  house  that  he 
could  not  sleep  till  four  in  the  morning. 

"  Several  gentlemen  and  clergymen  now  earnestly  advised  my 
father  to  quit  the  house ;  but  he  constantly  answered,  *  No ;  lest  the 
devil  flee  from  me  I  will  never  flee  from  the  devil.'  But  he  wrote 
to  my  eldest  brother  at  London  to  come  down.  He  was  preparing 
to  do  so,  when  another  letter  came,  informing  him  that  the  dis- 
turbances were  over,  after  they  had  continued  the  better  part  of 
the  time,  day  and  night,  from  the  2d  of  December  to  the  end  of 
January." 

In  this  summary  by  John  Wesley,  a  number  of  curious  in- 
cidents are  omitted  which  occur  in  the  statements  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  In  the  elder  Wesley's  account,  the  noise 
of  smashing  the  bottles  under  the  stairs  had  been  heard  before 
by  Miss  Emily  Wesley;  and  in  the  same  account  is  mentioned 
the  sound  of  dancing  in  a  matted  chamber  which  was  vacant  and 
locked  up.  The  vicar  procured  a  stout  mastiff  to  watch  outside 
the  house  to  make  sure  that  the  noises  were  no  trick  by  any  living 
person  there.  He  says  that  when  one  of  his  daughters  knocked 
the  spirit  answered  in  the  same  way.  The  noise  of  money  thrown 
down,  he  says,  three  of  his  daughters  also  heard  at  a  different 
time.  ...  It  seems  not  to  have  been  a  bad  spirit;  for  it 
ceased  to  knock  when  Mr.  Wesley,  fearing  his  son  Samuel  was 
dead,  asked  it  to  knock  three  times  if  it  were  his  spirit ;  and  after 
Mrs.  Wesley  desired  it  never  to  disturb  her  at  her  devotions  it 
never  did.     Mr.  Wesley  did  not  know,  as  is  well  known  now, 


378  Book  of  Knowledge. 

that  it  is  very  difficult  for  a  spirit  to  speak  audibly  to  those  in 
the  body,  and  that  knocking  is  the  easiest  way  by  which  spirits 
can  communicate.  Had  he  hit  on  the  method  of  questioning  it 
by  the  alphabet  he  might  soon  have  learnt  the  object  of  his  visits. 

It  may  well  be  imagined  what  a  sensation  these  strange  oc- 
currences made  on  the  minds  of  the  boys  at  school.  There  are 
letters  from  nearly  all  the  family  to  John  and  also  to  the  eldest 
brother  Samuel  at  Westminster.  Though  his  father  wrote  him 
out  the  whole  account,  he  insisted  that  all  his  sisters  should  send 
him  their  own  accounts.  In  fact,  Samuel,  who  afterwards  so 
stoutly  opposed  the  religious  reforms  of  his  brothers,  was  per- 
haps the  most  curious  of  them  all  on  the  subject.  And  here  it 
may  be  observed  that,  though  his  visitation  continued  only  two 
months,  we  are  assured  by  John  Wesley  that  these  knockings 
had  been  heard  by  his  mother  long  before  in  the  same  house,  and 
that  they  had  never  failed  to  come  before  any  signal  misfortune, 
or  illness  of  any  of  the  family.  No  particular  calamity  appeared 
to  have  followed  this  manifestation. 

John  Wesley,  having  had  such  unquestionable  proof  of  super- 
natural agency  in  his  own  family  in  his  youth,  held  fast  his  faith 
in  it  through  his  whole  remarkable  career,  and  has  recorded 
numerous  instances  of  such  direct  agency  both  in  his  Journals 
and  in  the  Armenian  Magazine.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to  trace 
the  grand  progress  of  John  and  Charles  Wesley  and  their  con- 
temporaries, in  the  wonderful  revival  of  religion  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  not  only  in  Great  Britain,  but  in  the  most  distant  quar- 
ters of  the  globe.  The  whole  of  that  great  history  stands  re- 
corded by  the  ablest  pens,  and  in  the  millions  of  men  and  women 
who  now  walk  in  the  pleasant  light  and  in  the  happy  feeling  they 
spread  abroad.  I  shall  only  remark  that,  like  all  other  revivals, 
it  met  with  the  devil's  tempest,  which  beats  on  the  heads  of  God's 
emissaries  only  to  drive  them  and  their  opinions  farther  and 
wider,  and  to  fix  them  deeper  in  the  battered  and  storm-drenched 
earth.  From  the  Church  to  which  these  devoted  men  of  God 
belonged,  and  within  which  they  would  fain  have  relit  the  sacred 
fire  on  the  altar,  they  experienced  the  most  savage  and  insulting 
treatment.  The  little  knot  of  under-graduates  who  met  in  the 
University  of  Oxford  for  the  purpose  of  religious  improvement — 


The  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       379 

who  lived  by  rule,  and  took  the  sacrament  weekly — were  speedily 
marked  out  for  ridicule  and  persecution.  They  were  dubbed 
Sacramentarians,  Bible-bigots,  Bible-moths,  the  Holy  or  the 
Godly  Club.  Amongst  the  leading  members  of  this  Godly  Club, 
which  began  with  two  or  three,  and  soon  grew  to  seven,  and 
then  to  fifteen,  were  John  and  Charles  Wesley,  George  White- 
field  and  Hervey,  afterwards  author  of  the  "  Meditations/' 
When  Whitefield  joined  them  he  says  he  was  set  upon  by  all 
the  students  and  treated  as  a  very  odd  fellow.  The  lives  and 
manners  of  the  students  at  that  time  were  such  as  Butler,  in 
his  "Analogy,"  had  described  them,  gross  and  vicious.  Such 
was  the  condition  of  the  embryo  prophets  of  the  nation.  That 
such  sons  of  Belial  should  insult  and  abuse  the  Methodist  re- 
vivalists was  natural,  but  the  authorities  of  the  University  were 
equally  hostile  to  them.  An  appearance  of  real  religion  within 
the  University  was  so  odd  and  out  of  place  that  they  held  meet- 
ings to  consult  how  it  was  to  be  put  down.  On  Whitefield, 
after  quitting  the  University,  returning  to  Oxford  to  preach 
he  found  all  the  churches  shut  against  him.  The  vice-chancellor 
came  in  person  to  the  house  where  he  was  exhorting,  and  ac- 
costed him  thus :  "  Have  you,  sir,  a  name  in  any  book  here  ?  " 
"  Yes,  sir,"  said  I ;  but  I  intend  to  take  it  out  soon."  He  re- 
plied, "  Yes,  and  you  had  better  take  yourself  out,  too,  or 
otherwise  I  will  lay  you  by  the  heels !  What  do  you  mean  by 
going  about  and  alienating  the  people's  aflfections  from  their 
old  pastors?  Your  works  are  full  of  vanity  and  nonsense! 
You  pretend  to  inspiration !  If  ever  you  come  again  in  this 
manner  among  these  people,  I  will  lay  you  first  by  the  heels, 
and  these  shall  follow."     ("  Life  of  Whitfield,"  by  Philip.) 

Both  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield,  though  regularly  or- 
dained ministers  of  the  church,  soon  found  all  pulpits  shut 
against  them;  even  that  of  his  native  place  and  parish,  which 
his  father  had  occupied  so  many  years,  was  refused  to  John 
Wesley.  The  Bishop  of  Bristol  desired  Wesley  to  go  out  of  his 
diocese  where  he  was  not  commissioned  to  preach,  and  where, 
consequently,  Southey  says,  "  he  had  no  business."  But  both 
the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  held  that  they  had  a  commission 
from  the  Head  of  the  Church  to  preach  anywhere  in  the  world. 


380  Book  of  Knowledge. 

They  asked,  like  the  apostles,  whether  they  were  to  obey  God 
or  man?  When  the  Churches  were  closed  against  them,  they 
were  told  that  it  was  irregular  to  preach  either  in  the  open 
air  or  in  a  private  house.  The  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of 
Bristol  showed  Whitefield  the  canons  prohibiting  it.  Such 
irregularities  were  not  becoming  a  minister  of  the  Established 
Church;  they  were  only  fit  for  Christ  and  His  apostles,  who 
preached  both  in  private  houses  and  out  of  doors,  anywhere 
they  could  save  souls.  Driven  to  follow  the  practice  of  the 
Founder  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  of  Him  who  said,  "  Go 
into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  them  to  come  in," 
the  success  was  wonderful,  and  the  fury  of  clergy,  bishops, 
magistrates  and  mobs  unbounded.  The  days  of  the  Quakers 
came  again.  The  leaders  and  the  ministers  of  the  Methodists 
were  hooted,  stoned,  spit  upon,  cursed,  and  thrown  into  horse- 
ponds  for  endeavoring  to  rekindle  religion  again  in  the  country. 
They  were  denounced  as  Papists,  Jesuits,  seducers,  and  bring- 
ers  in  of  the  Pretender.  At  Chelsea  the  mob  threw  wildiire  and 
crackers  into  the  meeting;  at  Long  Lane  they  broke  in  the 
roof  with  large  stones ;  John  Nelson,  one  of  the  preachers,  was 
forced  to  go  for  a  soldier,  and,  refusing  to  comply,  was  thrown 
into  prison;  mobs  were  collected  by  the  sounds  of  horn; 
windows  were  demoHshed;  houses  broken  open;  goods  de- 
stroyed ;  men,  women  and  children  beaten,  pelted,  and  dragged 
in  the  kennels.  John  Wesley  had  a  narrow  escape  for  his  life 
at  Birmingham;  Charles  in  another  place;  and  Whitefield  at 
Oxminton  Green  in  Ireland.  Some  of  the  preachers  did  not 
escape  at  all,  but,  like  poor  Thomas  Beard,  the  fellow-prisoner 
of  Nelson,  they  perished  in  prison  or  from  their  cruel  treatment. 
But  persecution  only  produced  its  usual  effects.  The  success 
of  the  Methodists  became  stupendous.  The  fire  of  God  seemed 
to  accompany  them,  and  people  were  converted  by  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands.  There  were  wide  differences  in  the  nat- 
ural geniuses  of  these  men.  Whitefield  was  all  impulse  and 
oratory;  he  took  no  pains,  probably  he  possessed  no  talent, 
necessary  to  organize  a  great  religious  body.  He  preached  as 
with  energies  of  heaven,  as  with  flashes  of  lightning;  and  the 
people  rushed  after  him  in  millions  and  were  struck  dow^n  and 


The  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       381 

converted  by  thousands.  But  what  he  lacked  in  constructive 
power  was  soon  presented  in  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  who 
shaped  into  organic  form  the  Whitefieldian  or  Calvinist  Method- 
ist Church,  which  still  exists,  and  especially  throughout  Wales. 
As  for  John  Wesley,  who  was  of  the  same  original  stock  as  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  (see  Southey's  "  Life  of  Wesley  ")  he  pos- 
sessed many  of  the  qualities  of  that  great  general.  He  was 
eminently  calm,  firm  and  full  of  constructive  genius.  He  per- 
fected a  scheme  of  Church  government  most  remarkable  for 
comprehending  all  the  qualities  which  can  draw  men  to  it,  and 
keep  them  there  when  attracted.  He  seized  upon  material 
necessary  for  such  an  organization  whenever  he  could  find  it; 
and  one  of  his  earliest  connections  was  with  the  society  of  the 
Moravians,  from  whom  he  drew  his  Love-feasts  and  Class- 
meetings,  and  all  those  agencies  which  make  every  man  and 
woman  something  in  his  system,  in  exact  opposition  to  the 
system  of  the  Church  of  England  where  the  clergy  are  every- 
thing and  the  laity  nothing.  At  the  same  time  his  brother 
Charles,  who  was  not  only  an  able  preacher  and  a  sound  and 
good  counsellor  but  an  excellent  poet,  wrote  many  admirable 
hymns  for  the  society.  Thus  arose  Methodism,  Armenian  and 
Calvinistic,  which  have  done  such  mighty  service  for  religion  in 
many  regions  of  the  world;  and  what  concerns  us  to  know  is 
that  they  did  it  by  Spiritualism  of  the  most  marked  and  avowed 
kind. 

I  have  said  that  the  Wesleys  always  retained  the  faith  in 
spiritual  apparitions  which  they  learned  under  the  paternal 
roof  so  startlingly.  As  to  direct  belief  in  miracles  and  inter- 
ferences of  Providence  they  found  this  in  William  Law,  the 
great  disciple  of  Jacob  Bohme,  with  whom  they  entered  into 
close  communion,  and  in  the  Moravians,  who  were  full  of  it. 
The  "  Life  of  Wesley,"  by  Southey,  in  connection  with  this  and 
other  particulars,  is  one  of  the  most  amusing  of  books,  at  least 
in  the  third  edition ;  for  he  had  sent  a  copy  of  the  work  to  Cole- 
ridge, who  made  marginal  notes  as  he  went  along,  and  then 
left  the  volume  at  his  death  to  Southey.  These  notes  are  intro- 
duced by  Southey's  son  into  the  third  edition.  Coleridge,  who 
is  himself  sometimes  inclined  to  sneer  at  the  supernatural,  won't 


382  Book  of  Knowledge. 

allow  Southey  to  do  it,  but  on  all  occasions,  when  the  laureate's 
High-churchism  breaks  out,  pulls  him  up,  asking  continually, 
"  Does  not  Robert  Southey  know  this  ? "  In  all  such  cases 
he  becomes  the  staunchest  champion  of  the  truth  of  the  views 
of  Wesley.  In  the  course  of  my  reading  I  imagined  that  I  had 
made  a  great  discovery,  namely,  that  Protestantism  only,  of  all 
churches.  Christian  or  pagan,  rejected  the  supernatural;  but 
Coleridge  had  made  the  discovery  before  me,  and  in  a  note  to 
Southey's  "  Wesley  "  introduces  it.  "  I  cannot  forget  that  this 
opinion  of  an  essential  diflFerence,  of  the  diversity  of  these  (the 
miracles  of  the  Gospels)  from  the  miracles  of  the  two  or  three 
first  centuries,  and  that  of  the  withdrawing  of  the  miraculous 
power  from  the  Church  at  the  death  of  the  apostles  are  con- 
fined to  Protestants,  and  even  among  these  are  but  modern." 
(Vol.  I,  253.)  Southey  complains  of  certain  words  of  Wesley's 
being  fanatical ;  "and  yet,"  asks  Coleridge,  "  does  not  Robert 
Southey  see  that  they  are  the  very  words  of  the  apostles  ?  "  In 
another  place,  "  Did  Robert  Southey  remember  that  the  words 
in  italics  are  faithfully  quoted  from  the  Articles  of  the  Church?" 
(Vol.  I,  245.)  When  Wesley  asserts  the  wonderful  powers  of 
real  faith,  Coleridge  adds,  "  Faith  is  as  real  as  life ;  as  actual  as 
force;  as  effectual  as  volition.  It  is  the  physics  of  the  moral 
being  no  less  than  it  is  the  physics  or  moral  of  the  zoo-physical." 
(Vol.  II,  82.)  When  Southey  treats  the  physical  phenomena 
of  Methodism  as  proceeding  from  bodily  disease  (for  he  was 
very  ignorant  of  mesmeric  science),  Coleridge  exclaims,  "  Alas, 
what  more  or  worse  could  a  young  infidel  spitaller,  fresh  from 
the  lectures  of  some  factious  anatomist  or  physiologist,  wish 
than  to  have  the  "  love  of  God  and  the  strong  desire  for  salva- 
tion "  represented  as  so  many  symptoms  and  causes  of  a  bodily 
disease?  Oh,  I  am  almost  inclined  to  send  this,  my  copy  of  his 
work,  to  R.  Southey,  with  the  notes,  for  my  heart  bears  him 
witness  that  he  ofTendeth  not  willingly."  (Vol.  II,  165.)  And 
he  did  send  it. 

The  preaching  of  both  the  Wesleys  and  Whitefield  produced 
those  symptoms  of  violent  agitation,  convulsion,  and  the  Hke, 
which  have  appeared  in  the  late  revivals,  and  which,  in  fact, 
have  been  common  to  all  great  revivals  in  every  age,  since  the 


The  Wesleys,  White-field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       383 

people  in  the  apostles*  days  cried  out,  "  What  shall  we  do  to  be 
saved  ?  "  and  since  the  devils  threw  their  victims  on  the  earth 
and  tore  them  before  they  would  leave  them,  if  we  regard  the 
convulsions  and  prostrations,  the  foaming  and  outcries,  as  the 
sufferings  of  nature  under  the  operations  of  God's  omnipotent 
Spirit,  and  the  resistance  of  the  devil,  loth  to  relinquish  his 
hold  on  the  souls  of  men,  there  appears  nothing  anomalous  or 
extraordinary  in  these  phenomena  w'hich  have  so  often  been 
treated  with  ridicule  or  reprehension.  Such  were  the  effects  of 
the  preaching  of  the  Friends  of  God  in  the  Middle  Ages,  of  the 
Lollards,  the  Puritans,  the  Covenanters,  the  Camisards,  the 
first  Friends  and  so  on  till  our  own  day;  and  no  doubt  will 
recur  again  and  again  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

In  Gillie's  "  Historical  Collections  "  we  find  precisely  such 
phenomena  occurring  at  the  same  period,  1750,  in  Scotland,  as 
have  been  so  much  wondered  at  amongst  the  early  Methodists 
and  since. 

On  Whitefield's  visit  to  Cambulsang,  in  1742,  amid  the  most 
numerous  and  rapid  conversions,  it  is  stated  "  the  visible  con- 
vulsive agitations  which  accompanied  them  exceeded  every- 
thing of  the  kind  which  had  yet  been  observed." 

Wesley  healed  the  sick  by  prayer  and  laying  on  of  hands. 
He  and  some  others  joined  in  prayer  over  a  man  who  was  not 
expected  to  live  till  morning;  he  was  speechless,  senseless,  and 
his  pulse  was  gone.  Before  they  ceased  his  senses  and  speech 
returned.  He  recovered;  and  Wesley  says  that  they  who 
choose  to  account  for  the  fact  by  natural  causes  have  his  free 
leave:  he  says  it  was  the  power  of  God  (Vol.  H,  p.  385).  He 
believed  in  dreams  and  impressions  of  a  vivid  and  pecuHar  char- 
acter. John  Nelson  dreamed  that  Wesley  came  and  sat  down 
at  his  fireside  and  spake  certain  words.  Four  months  after  he 
did  come,  for  the  first  time,  sat  down  as  he  had  seen  him  in  his 
dream,  and  pronounced  the  very  words.  Nelson  seems  to  have 
experienced  the  inner  breathing  described  by  Harris  and 
Swedenborg.  "  His  soul,"  he  said,  "  seemed  to  breathe  its  life 
in  God  as  naturally  as  his  body  breathed  life  in  the  common 
air."    Wesley  believed,  with  Luther,  that  the  devils  produced 


384  Book  of  Knowledge. 

disease,  bodily  hurts,  storms,  earthquakes  and  nightmare.  That 
epilepsy  and  insanity  often  proceeded  from  demon  influence. 
He  declared  that  if  he  gave  up  faith  in  witchcraft  he  must  give 
up  the  Bible.  When  asked  whether  he  had  himself  ever  seen 
a  ghost,  he  replied,  "  No ;  nor  have  I  ever  seen  a  murder ;  but 
unfortunately  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  murders  are  com- 
mitted almost  every  day  in  one  place  or  another."  Warburton 
attacked  Wesley's  belief  in  miraculous  cures  and  expulsion  of 
evil  spirits ;  but  Wesley  replied  that  what  he  had  seen  with  his 
own  eyes  he  was  bound  to  believe ;  the  bishop  could  believe  or 
not  as  he  pleased.  Wesley  records  the  instantaneous  cure  of  a 
woman  named  Mary  Special  of  a  cancer  in  both  breasts. 
Sout'hey  quotes  the  relations  regarding  Thomas  Walsh,  one  of 
the  Wesleyan  preachers,  which  very  much  resemble  those  of 
Catholic  saints.  He  was  sometimes  found  in  so  deep  a  reverie 
that  he  appeared  to  have  ceased  to  breathe;  there  was  some- 
thing resembling  splendor  on  his  countenance  and  other  cir- 
cumstances seemed  to  attest  his  communion  with  the  spiritual 
world. 

But  the  fact  for  w'hich  Southey  decries  Wesley  most  is  his 
faith  in  apparitions.  On  this  point  Mr.  Watson  ably  defends 
him ;  and  with  his  remarks  I  may  close  mine  on  Wesley :  "  To 
Mr.  Wesley's  learning,  and  various  and  great  talents,  Mr. 
Southey  is  just;  but  an  attack  is  made  upon  what  he  calls  his 
"  voracious  credulity.''  He  accredited  and  repeated  stories  of 
apparitions,  and  witchcraft,  possession  so  silly  as  well  as  mon- 
strous that  they  might  have  nauseated  the  coarsest  appetite 
for  wonder;  this,  too,  when  the  belief  on  his  part  was  purely 
gratuitous,  and  no  motive  can  be  assigned  except  the  pleasure 
of  believing. 

Gn  the  general  question  of  supernatural  appearances  it  may 
be  remarked  that  Mr.  Wesley  might  at  least  have  plead  author- 
ities for  his  faith  as  high,  as  numerous,  and  as  learned  as  any 
of  our  modern  skeptics  for  their  doubts.  It  is  in  modern  times 
only  that  this  species  of  infidelity  has  appeared,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  sophists  of  the  atheistical  sects  in  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  the  Sadducees  amongst  the  Jews.  The  unbelief  is  so  com- 
mon in  the  present  day  among  free-thinkers  and  half-thinkers 


The  Wesley s,  White  field  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       385 

on  such  subjects,  places  itself,  therefore,  with  only  these  ex- 
ceptions, in  opposition  to  the  belief  of  the  learned  and  un- 
learned of  every  age  and  every  nation,  polished,  semi-civilized 
and  savage  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  It  does  more :  it 
places  itself  in  opposition  to  the  Scriptures,  from  which  all  the 
criticism,  bold,  subtle,  profane,  or  absurd  which  has  been  re- 
sorted to  can  never  expunge  either  apparitions,  possessions  or 
witchcrafts.  It  opposes  itself  to  testimony  which,  if  feeble  and 
unsatisfactory  in  many  instances,  is  such  in  others  that  no  man 
in  any  other  case  would  refuse  assent  to  it ;  or,  so  refusing,  he 
would  make  himself  the  subject  of  a  just  ridicule.  That  there 
have  been  many  impostures  is  allowed;  that  many  have  been 
deceived  is  certain;  and  that  all  such  accounts  should  be  sub- 
jected to  rigorous  scrutiny  before  they  can  have  any  title  to 
our  belief  ought  to  be  insisted  upon.  But  even  imposture  and 
error  presupposes  a  previous  opinion  in  favor  of  what  is  pre- 
tended or  mistaken;  and  if  but  one  account  in  twenty,  or  a 
hundred,  stands  upon  credible  evidence,  and  is  corroborated  by 
circumstances  in  which,  from  their  nature  there  can  be  no  mis- 
take, there  is  sufficient  to  disturb  the  quiet  and  confound  the 
system  of  the  whole  body  of  infidels. 

Every  age  has  its  dangers.  In  former  times  the  danger  lay 
in  believing  too  much;  in  our  own  time  the  propensity  is  in 
believing  too  little.  The  only  ground  which  a  Christian  can 
safely  take  on  these  questions  is,  that  the  a  priori  arguments  of 
philosophic  unbelievers  as  to  the  "  absurdity  "  and  "  impossi- 
bility "  of  these  things,  go  for  nothing,  since  the  Scriptures  have 
settled  the  fact  that  they  have  occurred,  and  have  afforded  not 
the  least  intimation  that  they  should  at  any  time  cease  to  occur. 
Such  supernatural  visitations  are  therefore  possible ;  and  where 
they  are  reported  ought  to  be  carefully  examined,  and  neither 
too  promptly  admitted  nor  too  harshly  rejected.  An  acute  and 
excellent  philosopher  of  modern  times  has  come  to  the  same 
conclusion  (Mr.  Andrew  Baxter,  in  his  "  Inquiry  into  the 
Nature  of  the  Human  Soul,"  in  the  Essay  on  the  Philosophy 
of  Dreaming).  "Although  a  fear  of  spirits  has  been  abused  by 
vain  or  weak  people,  and  carried  to  extremes,  perhaps,  by 
crafty  and  designing  men,  the  most  rigorous  philosophy  will 


386  Book  of  Knowledge. 

not  justify  its  being  entirely  rejected.  That  subordinate  beings 
are  never  permitted  or  commissioned  tjb  be  the  ministers  of  the 
will  of  God  is  a  hard  point  to  be  proved."  (Watson's  "  Ob- 
servations on  Southey's  Life  of  Wesley,"  p.  189-193.) 

I  have  already  introduced  proofs  of  Whitefield's  Spiritual- 
ism. He  had  a  profound  belief  in  the  immediate  and  mirac- 
ulous operation  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  When  Bishop  Warbur- 
ton  ridiculed  his  belief  in  immediate  inspiration,  and  declared 
"  all  influence  exceeding  the  power  of  humanity  miraculous, 
and,  therefore,  not  now  to  be  believed  in,  the  Church  being 
perfectly  established,"  Whitefield  referred  him  to  the  Cate- 
chism, where  it  tells  the  child  that  it  is  not  able  to  do  what  is 
required  of  it  except  by  God's  special  grace;  and  asked  him 
Whether,  when  he  ordained  ministers,  he  did  not  say,  "  Dost 
thou  trust  that  thou  art  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost? 
Then  receive  thou  the  Holy  Ghost"  Though  these  might,  to 
the  Bishop,  as  to  essayists  and  reviewers  now,  have  become  a 
mere  form  of  words,  to  Whitefield  they  were  living  and  sacred 
truths.  He  saw  wonderful  effects  produced  by  his  preaching, 
and  he  attributed  these  to  divine  power.  "  He  found,"  says  his 
biographer,  "  that  the  divine  presence  might  be  calculated  upon 
whenever  the  divine  glory  was  consulted "  ("  Life,"  by  G. 
Philips,  p.  76).  "  How  often  have  we  been  filled  as  with  new 
wine ;  how  often  have  I  seen  them  overwhelmed  with  the  divine 
presence !  "  (p.  78).  "  Vile  teachers  who  say  that  we  are  not 
to  receive  the  Holy  Ghost !  '^  (p.  85).  "  We  do  not  mean  that 
God's  Spirit  does  not  manifest  itself  to  our  senses,  but  that  it 
may  be  perceived  by  the  soul  as  really  as  any  sensible  impres- 
sion made  upon  the  body  "  (p.  88).  "  In  my  prayer  the  power 
of  God  came  down  and  was  greatly  felt.  In  my  two  sermons 
there  was  yet  more  power  "  (p.  295).  "  I  felt  a  divine  life  dis- 
tinct from  my  animal  life  "  (p.  321).  This  was  when  he  was 
sufifering  agonies  of  bodily  pain ;  and  he  declares  that  this  divine 
life  suspended  all  his  pains,  and  enabled  him  to  go  out  and 
preach.  "  A  gale  of  divine  influence  everywhere  attended  his 
preaching  "  (p.  408).  It  was  only  such  a  power  that  could  pro- 
duce the  effects  which  followed  Whitefield. 

In  America  Whitefield  went  with  William  Tennant,  who  had 


The  Wesley s,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.      387 

once  lain  in  a  trance  for  three  days  and  was  only  saved  from 
being  buried  alive  by  his  physician.  For  the  wonders  of  this 
trance  see  Howitt's  Translation  of  "  Ennemoser's  History  of 
Magic,"  II,  p.  429.  Tennant  totally  lost  his  memory  for  a  long 
time  after  this  trance.  When  the  agitations  attending  his 
preaching  were,  like  Spiritualism  to-day,  attributed  by  the 
clergy  to  the  devil,  Whitefield  replied,  "  Is  it  not  amazing  rash- 
ness, without  inquiry  and  trial  to  pronounce  that  a  work  of  the 
devil  which,  for  anything  you  know,  may  be  the  work  of  the 
Infinitely  Good  and  Holy  Spirit  ?  "  (p.  3CX).)  For  some  time 
Whitefield  says,  he  was  constrained,  whether  he  would  or  not, 
when  praying  for  the  king,  to  say,  "  Lord,  cover  thou  his  head 
in  the  day  of  battle !  "  He  adds  that  he  did  not  know  that  the 
king  was  gone  to  Germany  till  he  heard  of  the  battle  of  Det- 
tingen,  and  the  king  being  in  it.  He  then  saw  why  he  had  been 
forced  to  pray  thus.  In  what  lig*ht  such  doctrine  of  prayer 
must  have  been  held  by  the  Church  at  that  time  is  evident  from 
six  students,  in  1763,  being  expelled  from  St.  Edmund's  Hall, 
Oxford,  for  praying  and  reading  the  Scriptures.  They  were, 
some  of  them,  charged  with  the  additional  offense  of  having 
followed  trades  before  they  entered  the  University.  They  were 
taken  into  Lady  Huntingdon's  College  at  Trevecca,  in  Wales : 
Whitefield  and  Lady  Huntingdon  not  having  forgotten  that 
"  the  carpenter's  Son  "  was  the  head  of  their  rehgion. 

A  noble  fellow-worker  with  both  Wesley  and  Whitefield 
was  Fletcher  of  Madeley.  Mr.  Fletcher  was  a  Swiss  by  birth, 
and  his  real  name  was  Jean  Guillaume  de  la  Flechere ;  but,  on 
coming  to  England,  he  anglicized  it  into  plain  John  Fletcher. 
He  was  descended  from  a  noble  family  in  the  Pays  de  Vaud, 
and  was  educated  for  the  ministry;  but,  as  he  could  not  sub- 
scribe to  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  he  resolved  to  seek 
preferment  as  a  soldier  of  fortune.  Various  circumstances  pre- 
vented this,  and  he  came  to  England,  and  became  tutor  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Hill,  of  Fern  Hall,  in  Shropshire.  He  there  re- 
ceived ordination  as  a  minister  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
was  presented  with  the  living  of  Madeley,  in  Shropshire,  through 
Mr.  Hill's  influence.  The  income  was  small,  and  the  people, 
chiefly  colliers  and  iron-workers,  exceedingly  rude  and  ignor- 


388  Book  of  Knowledge. 

ant.  For  some  time  his  attempts  at  religious  reform  met  with 
much  violence  and  persecution  from  them,  as  well  as  from  the 
neighboring  magistrates  and  clergy;  but  the  mild  and  truly 
Christian  spirit  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  his  warm  benevolence,  won 
for  "him  the  aflfection  and  veneration  of  the  whole  country. 
Never  did  the  religion  of  Christ  show  itself  in  a  more  beautiful 
and  amiable  form  than  in  the  practice  and  teaching  of  John 
Fletcher  of  Madeley.  He  married  Miss  Bosanquet,  a  lady  of 
a  distinguished  London  family  and  who,  having  had  similar 
religious  and  spiritual  experiences  to  his  own,  went  hand  in 
hand  with  him  in  all  his  religious  and  benevolent  exertions ;  so 
that  their  names  have  become  household  words  not  only  in 
their  own  neighborhood  but  with  the  public  at  large.  When 
the  followers  of  Wesley  and  Whitefield  separated  on  account 
of  the  great  doctrines  of  Calvin  and  Arminius,  as  well  as  on 
some  minor  points,  John  Fletcher  went  of  necessity,  as  he  could 
not  accept  predestination,  with  Mr.  Wesley ;  but  he  also  enter- 
tained a  warm  friendship  for  Whitefield  and  Lady  Huntingdon. 
As  Wesley's  Spiritualism  was  of  a  many-sided  character,  and 
Whitefield's  more  concentrated  on  the  immediate  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  preaching,  so  Fletcher's  combined  the  faith  of 
Whitefield  with  a  more  marked  reliance  on  divine  Providences. 
His  life  records  many  striking  instances  of  such.  As  I  have 
said,  he  was  bent  on  being  a  soldier  in  his  youth.  He  went  to 
Lisbon  and  became  a  captain  of  volunteers  of  his  own  country- 
men bound  for  Brazil,  contrary  to  the  injunctions  of  his  parents. 
But  the  morning  that  the  ship  sailed  the  maid  let  the  kettle  fall 
and  so  scalded  his  leg  that  he  could  not  go.  The  ship  sailed 
without  him  and  was  never  heard  of  again.     ("  Life,"  p.  10.) 

He  was  addicted,  like  too  many,  to  reading  in  bed  till  very 
sleepy.  One  night  he  dreamed  that  his  curtain,  pillow  and 
cap  were  all  on  fire  but  went  out  without  doing  him  any  harm. 
In  the  morning  he  found  his  curtain,  pillow  and  part  of  his 
cap  all  destroyed  by  fire.  His  hymnbook,  too,  was  partly  burnt, 
and  in  this  state  was  preserved  by  Mrs.  Fletcher.  Not  a  hair 
of  his  head  was  singed.  He  attributed  the  extinction  of  the 
flames  to  a  messenger  from  God  (p.  26).  On  another  occasion 
he  was  intending  one  Sunday  evening  to  proceed  to  Madeley 


The  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       389 

Wood  to  catechize,  bu't  he  was  suddenly  called  to  bury  a  child, 
and  the  delay  thus  created  prevented  a  villainous  design  of  the 
colliers.  They  had  brought  a  bull  to  the  place  of  preaching, 
and  had  agreed  to  pull  the  parson  off  his  horse  when  he  came, 
and  set  the  dogs  on  him,  as  they  said,  "  to  bait  the  parson  " ; 
but,  owing  to  the  long  time  before  Fletcher  appeared,  the  bull 
had  broken  loose  and  dispersed  the  drunken  colHers,  and  the 
preaching  went  on  in  peace  (p.  73) 

He  gave  to  John  Wesley  an  account  of  his  once  bathing  in 
the  Rhine,  and  being  carried  away  by  the  current  and  drawn 
under  a  mill.  That  he  struck  against  one  of  the  piles  and  lost 
all  consciousness,  and  when  he  recovered  it  found  himself  on 
the  shore  five  miles  below  the  spot  at  which  he  had  entered, 
but  free  from  any  soreness  or  weariness.  A  gentleman 
amongst  others  who  had  seen  him  disappear  under  the  mill 
said  that  he  was  under  the  water  twenty  minutes.  But  some 
will  say,  "  Why,  this  was  a  miracle !  "  "  Undoubtedly,"  ob- 
serves Mr.  Wesley.  "  It  was  not  a  naitural  event,  but  a  work 
wrought  above  the  power  of  nature,  probably  by  the  ministry 
of  angels  "  (p.  7). 

Whilst  Mr.  Fletcher  presided  over  the  college  at  Trevecca 
he  had  many  journeys  to  make.  One  day,  as  he  was  riding 
over  a  wooden  bridge,  just  as  he  got  to  the  middle  of  it  it  broke 
in.  The  mare's  forelegs  sank  into  the  river,  buit  the  body  was 
kept  up  by  the  bridge.  In  that  position  she  lay  as  still  as  if 
she  had  been  dead  till  he  got  over  her  neck  and  took  off  his 
bags,  in  which  were  several  manuscripts,  the  spoiling  of  which 
would  have  occasioned  him  muc'h  trouble;  he  then  endeavored 
to  raise  her  up,  but  she  would  not  stir  till  he  went  over  to  the 
other  side  of  the  bridge.  But  no  sooner  did  he  set  his  foot 
upon  the  ground  than  she  began  to  plunge.  Immediately  the 
remaining  part  of  the  bridge  broke  down  and  sank  with  her 
into  the  river.  But  presently  she  rose  up  again,  swam  out, 
and  came  to  him  (p.  83). 

Incidents  like  these  the  cold,  logical  professor  of  a  tradition- 
ary Christianity,  always  struggling  against  the  vitaHty  of  the 
Gospel,  will  reason  quietly  away  as  mere  curious  occurrences; 
but  the  early  leaders  of  Methodism,  in  my  opinion,  more  truly 


390  Book  of  Knowledge. 

set  them  down  as  providential  acts  in  the  case  of  God's  servants. 
There  are  many  other  passages  in  all  the  lives  of  the  early 
Methodists  which  relate  spiritual  revelations  and  impressions 
which  mere  theoretic  professors  would  smile  at  as  fancies  and 
enthusiasm.  All  vital  Christians,  however,  of  whatever  Church, 
have  found  them  as  real  as  any  other  circumstances  of  their 
lives.  The  language  of  the  early  Methodists  is  strikingly  like 
that  of  the  early  Quakers  in  many  particulars.  They  continually 
say  they  are  "  impressed  "  so  and  so. 

Mr.  Fletcher  says  that  on  one  occasion,  when  quite  awake, 
he  had  a  very  clear  and  palpable  vision  of  Christ  on  the  Cross. 
On  another  occasion  he  heard  a  divine  voice  speaking  to  him 
"  in  an  inexpressibly  awful  sound."  At  another  time  he  had, 
like  Moses,  a  supernatural  discovery  of  the  glory  of  God,  and 
had  an  ineffable  converse  with  Him;  whether  in  the  body  or 
out  of  the  body  he  could  not  tell.  Many  impressions  of  the 
presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  were  felt  by  him  in  an  extraordinary 
manner. 

One  dark  and  wet  night,  he  being  in  the  country  on  a  preach- 
ing journey,  Mrs.  Fletcher  had  a  sudden  vision  of  her  husband 
being  thrown  over  the  head  of  his  horse  which  had  fallen.  The 
scene  was  clear  to  her  eyes.  She  commended  him  to  God,  and 
immediately  peace  flowed  into  her  soul.  When  he  at  length 
arrived  he  called  for  water  to  wash,  proceeding  to  relate  exactly 
what  she  had  seen  (p.  338). 

One  morning  Mr.  Fletcher  had  set  out  into  the  country  to 
visit  an  eminently  pious  clergyman.  When  he  had  walked  sev- 
eral miles  he  saw  a  great  crowd  collected  at  the  door  of  a  house, 
and  found  that  a  poor  woman  and  child  were  dying.  The 
woman  had  been  only  recently  confined;  she  appeared  very 
near  death;  and  little  better  was  the  case  of  the  infant,  which 
was  convulsed  from  head  to  fodt.  The  room  was  filled  with 
people.  He  spoke  with  them  of  the  power  of  God  to  forgive 
sins  and  raise  the  dead ;  and  he  then  prayed  that  He  would  save 
both  the  sufferers  and  the  spectators.  Whilst  he  prayed  the 
child's  convulsions  ceased,  and  the  mother  became  easy,  then 
cheerful,  then  strong.  The  people  were  amazed,  and  stood 
speechless  and  almost  senseless!     Whilst    they  were  in  this 


The  Wesleys,  Whitefield  and  Fletcher  of  Madeley.       391 

state  he  silently  withdrew.  When  they  came  to  themselyes  he 
was  gone.  Many  of  them  asked,  "  What  could  it  be  ?  "  Some 
said,  "  Certainly  it  was  an  angel "  (p.  290). 

On  one  occasion  Mr.  Fletcher  was  seized  with  a  strange 
confusion.  As  he  ascended  the  pulpit  his  sermon  and  the  very 
text  vanished  from  his  memory,  and  he  thought  he  should 
have  to  descend  without  saying  anything.  But  on  reading  the 
first  lesson,  the  third  chapter  of  Daniel,  containing  the  account 
of  the  three  worthies  being  cast  into  the  fiery  furnace,  his 
mouth  was  opened,  and  he  preached  on  the  subject  in  a  manner 
extraordinary  to  himself.  He  believed  there  was  some  cause 
for  it;  and  desired  that,  if  it  applied  in  any  way  to  any  one 
present,  they  would  let  him  know.  One  the  following  Wednes- 
day he  was  informed  that  a  butcher  had  threatened  to  cut  his 
wife's  throat  if  she  persisted  in  going  to  Mr.  Fletcher's  church. 
That  Sunday  she  had  been  in  great  terror  but  resolved,  not- 
withstanding, to  go.  Her  husband  said  that,  if  she  did  go,  he 
would  not  cut  her  throat,  but  that  he  would  heat  the  oven  and 
throw  her  in  the  moment  she  came  home.  The  sermon  was 
singularly  applicable  to  her  case;  she  gathered  courage  and 
firmly  believed  that  she,  too,  would  be  delivered  from  the  savage 
wrath  of  her  husband.  When  she  opened  the  door,  to  her 
astonishment  her  husband  was  sitting  in  a  remarkably  subdued 
mood;  and  the  very  nexit  Sunday  he  himself  accompanied  her 
to  church  and  received  the  sacrament,  Mr.  Fletcher  adds  that 
the  man's  good  impressions  did  not  remain;  but  that  he  him- 
self saw  why  his  sermon  had  been  taken  from  him  (p.  336). 

Like  many  good  men  this  eminent  servant  of  God  had  a 
clear  announcement  of  his  approaching  death  by  impression. 
His  wife  writes :  **  About  two  months  ago  he  came  to  me  and 
said,  *  My  dear  love,  I  know  not  how  it  is,  but  I  have  a  strange 
impression  that  death  is  near  us,  as  if  it  were  in  some  sudden 
stroke  upon  one  of  us ;  and  it  draws  all  my  soul  in  prayer  that 
we  may  be  ready.'  The  intimation  was  not  long  in  being  ful- 
filled. He  was  contemplating  a  journey  to  London,  but  during 
prayer,  when  seeking  light  upon  the  subject,  the  answer  was, 
*  Not  to  London,  but  to  the  grave.'  He  was  seized  with  a 
shivering  in  his  pulpit,  and  remarked  on  returning  home  that 


392  Book  of  Knowledge. 

he  had  taken  cold.     It  was  the  commencement  of  his  last 
illness." 

Such  were  the  first  founders  of  Methodism.  Men  who 
restored  religion  in  a  most  remarkable  manner,  and  to  a  most 
splendid  extent,  by  boldly  asserting  the  present  and  eternal 
vitality  of  the  power  and  divine  gifts  of  the  Church.  Their  suc- 
cess was  a  proof  of  the  truth  of  their  doctrine.  Obeying  that 
doctrine  they  became  the  witnesses  of  it  to  the  modern  world 
as  the  apostles  had  been  to  the  ancient  one.  In  this  fact  Hes 
a  great  subject  for  reflection;  a  warning  to  the  professors  of  all 
phases  of  Christianity  to  let  its  ancient  spirit  work. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
A  CHAPTER  OF  POETS. 

All  genuine  poetry  is,  of  its  own  nature,  spiritual :  all  genu- 
ine poets  write  under  inspiration.  With  the  ancients,  vates  and 
poet  were  synonymous.  If  it  be  replied  that  what  poets  have 
written  under  invocation  to  the  Muses,  or  to  other  powers, 
has  been  to  themselves  most  commonly  consciously  and 
avowedly  fable  and  fiction;  it  may  be  responded  that,  in  this 
form  of  fable,  they  have  endeavored  to  lay  down  eternal  truths, 
and  in  the  very  machinery  of  supernatural  agencies  adopted, 
have  recognized  the  faith  of  their  predecessors.  Campbell  de- 
fined poetry  on  this  principle :  "  For  song  is  but  the  eloquence 
of  truth." 

In  their  closets,  and  under  their  truest  influences,  all  authors, 
prose  or  poetic,  are  Spiritualists.  Nothing  would  be  easier 
than  to  establish  this  position  from  the  pages  of  every  man  and 
woman  who  have  written  with  sufficient  energy  to  seize  on  the 
spirit  of  their  age.  I  have  shown  the  genuine  Spiritualism  of 
the  ancient  classical  poets;  if  we  pass  through  the  literature  of 
any  modern  country  we  find  the  best  authors  asserting  spiritual 
impressions  on  their  minds  in  the  hours  of  composition.  I  have 
noticed  the  confession  of  Schiller;  and  in  the  conversations  of 
Eckermann  with  Goethe,  and  in  Goethe's  autobiography,  we 
have  repeated  declarations  of  that  author's  belief  in  supernatural 
agency.  He  relates  the  constant  prescience  of  his  grandfather 
who  knew  long  beforehand  what  would  come  to  pass,  and  when 
current  events  ran  apparently  counter  to  his  internal  intima- 
tions. So  we  might  go  through  the  great  writers  of  both  Ger- 
many, Scandinavia,  France  and  every  other  country.  Rousseau 
was  full  of  such  convictions;  and  perhaps  no  man  was  ever 
more  under  direct  spirit  influence.  My  space  allows  me  only 
to  notice  the  Spiritualism  of  a  few  of  the  leading  poets  of  Italy 


394  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  our  own  country  as  examples;  and  when  I  say  poets,  the 
same  applies  to  all  prose  writers  and  to  artists.  I  have  already 
quoted  the  "  Confessions  of  Raphael,"  and  to  him  might  be 
added  Michael  Angelo  and  other  great  artists  of  Italy.  There 
are  most  amazing  facts  of  the  kind  in  the  life  of  Benvenuto 
Cellini.  In  our  own  country,  and  that  even  in  our  own  time, 
the  involuntary  confessions  of  our  novelists,  even  of  those  who 
profess  to  scoff  at  Spiritualism,  are  extraordinary.  Amongst 
these  Charles  Dickens  has  played  with  Spiritualism  as  a  cat 
with  a  mouse;  it  has  a  wonderful  fascination  for  him.  All  his 
literary  life  through  he  has  been  introducing  the  marvellous  and 
the  ghostly  into  his  novels ;  and  has  of  late  years  in  his  period- 
icals been  alternately  attacking  SpirituaHsm,  and  giving  you 
most  accredited  instances  of  it.  He  has  printed  accounts  of 
apparitions,  assuring  you  that  he  knows  the  persons  who  have 
seen  them,  and  that  they  are  not  only  perfectly  sane  but  thor- 
oughly trustworthy.  To  him  we  owe  the  first  publication  of 
the  extraordinary  experiences  of  Mr.  Heaphy,  the  artist.  When 
he  forgets  the  critical  and  skeptical  world,  the  bugbear  of  liter- 
ary men,  in  the  power  of  his  closest  convictions,  we  hear  him 
using  this  language :  "  It  is  an  exquisite  and  beautiful  thing  in 
our  nature  that  when  the  heart  is  touched  and  softened  by  some 
tranquil  happiness  or  affectionate  feeling  the  memory  of  the 
dead  comes  over  it  most  powerfully  and  irresistibly.  It  would 
seem  almost  as  though  our  better  thoughts  and  sympathies 
were  charms,  in  virtue  of  which  the  soul  is  enabled  to  hold  some 
vague  and  mysterious  intercourse  with  the  spirits  of  those  we 
loved  in  life.  Alas !  how  often  and  how  long  may  these  patient 
angels  hover  around  us,  watching  for  the  spell  which  is  so 
seldom  uttered  and  so  soon  forgotten ! "  Miss  Bronte  is  still 
more  decided :  "  Besides  this  earth,  and  besides  the  race  of  men 
there  is  an  invisible  world  and  a  kingdom  of  spirits.  That 
world  is  round  us,  for  it  is  everywhere ;  and  those  spirits  watch 
us,  for  they  are  commissioned  to  guard  us,"  etc.  She  makes  a 
voice  to  be  heard  from  an  impossible  distance  according  to 
natural  acoustics,  and  asserts  that,  though  strange,  it  is  true. 
Miss  Mulock  describes  her  spiritualistic  friends  as  people  with 
good  warm  hearts,  but  with  little  head,  and  then  she  goes  on 


A  Chapter  of  Poets.  395 

and  embellishes  her  volumes  with  all  sorts  of  Spiritualism. 
Such  are  the  inconsistencies  of  minds  in  a  woful  dilemma  be- 
twixt their  education  and  the  ineradicable  force  of  nature.  The 
deep  interest  which  Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton  has  always 
taken  in  spiritual  phenomena  he  has  himself  made  familiar  to 
every  one.  But,  from  these  general  remarks,  I  revert  to  my 
immediate  object. 

The  great  poeits  of  Italy  are,  from  their  religion,  necessarily 
Spiritualists.  They  are  taught  by  the  Catholic  and  Infallible 
Church  full  faith  in  the  agency  on  earth  of  spiritual  powers, 
sacred  and  infernal,  and  that  exhibited  in  every  form  of  divine 
interposition  and  of  magic.  Dante  makes  himself  be  conducted 
through  hell,  purgatory  and  paradise  by  departed  spirits — ^by 
Virgil  through  the  two  former  regions ;  by  Beatrice  through  the 
latter.  The  whole  frame  and  substance  of  his  great  poem, 
the  "  Divinia  Commedia,"  are  spiritual ;  and  had  we  not  other 
evidence  of  Dante's  more  poetical  belief,  we  might  safely  have 
pronounced  his  knowledge  of  spiritual  subjedts  spiritually  com- 
municated— the  laws  of  spiritual  life  as  communicated  by  him 
being  so  perfectly,  for  the  most  part,  in  accordance  with  still 
more  modern  revelations.  It  would  be  a  good  work  of  some 
one  well  acquainted  with  the  poetry  of  Dante  to  give  us  an 
elaborate  demonstration  of  this  to  which  I  can  merely  allude. 
He  pronounces  the  great  law  of  spirit  intercourse,  however,  in 
his  Paradise,  most  positively  not  as  a  poetical  idea  but  as  a 
philosophical  truth. 

High  functions  to  pure  substances  were  given, 
When  first  created ;  these  with  powers  were  graced 
To  execute  on  earth  the  will  of  heaven. 
To  matter  lowest  station  was  assigned, 
Compounded  natures  in  the  middle  placed, 
Subject  to  bonds  Which  no  one  may  unbind. 

Wright's  Translation,  Paradise,  c,  xxix. 

This  is  strikingly  borne  out  by  all  the  experiences  of  modern 
Spiritualism.  The  doctrine  of  guardian  angels  is  not  more  fully 
confirmed  than  that  direct  communication  betwixt  embodied 


396  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  disembodied  spirits  can  only  take  place  under  fixed  and 
jealously  guarded  laws.  It  is  these  laws  that  present  spiritual 
experiences  are  rendering  every  day  clearer,  to  the  ignorance 
skeptical  minds  owe  their  constant  self-exposures,  and  many 
well-meaning  persons  their  disappointments.  In  the  prose 
works  of  Dante,  the  "  Convito  "  and  the  "  Monarchia,"  are 
numerous  avowals  of  his  faith  in,  and  knowledge  of.  Spiritual- 
ism. In  the  "  Monarchia,"  he  says,  "  To  the  first  kind  of  happi- 
ness we  arrive  by  means  of  philosophical  studies,  following  them 
up  by  the  practice  of  moral  and  intellectual  virtue.  The  second 
we  reach  by  means  of  spiritual  writings  which  surpass  human 
reason."  And  again,  "  God  does,  and  will  do  many  things  by 
means  of  angels  which  the  Vicar  of  God,  the  successor  of  St. 
Peter,  cannot  do  "  (Book  III).  In  the  "  Convito,"  he  says, 
"  Oh,  happy  those  few  who  sit  at  that  table  where  the  bread  of 
angels  is  eaten  "  (Trat.  i.  c.  i).  And  again,  "  The  life  of  my 
'heart — i.e.,  of  my  inner  man — is  wont  to  be  a  secret  thoug*ht, 
a  thought  which  ascends  to  God — i.e.,  I  contemplate  in  thought 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  (Trat.  c,  II,  8). 

But  in  the  "  Vita  Nuova,"  we  find  Dante  having  visions  illus- 
trative of  his  coming  life.  This  faculty  he  appears  to  have  in- 
herited from  his  mother.  Boccaccio,  in  his  life  of  him,  says,  "  A 
little  while  before  Dante's  birth,  his  mother  saw  in  a  dream  what 
her  future  child  was  to  be,  which  was  then  unknown  both  to  her 
and  to  others,  but  is  now  manifest  to  all  from  the  result.  The 
gentle  lady,  in  her  sleep,  fancied  she  was  under  a  very  high  laurel 
tree,  which  grew  in  a  green  meadow  by  the  side  of  a  copious  foun- 
tain; and  there  she  gave  birth  to  a  son,  who,  being  maintained 
only  by  the  berries  that  fell  from  the  laurel  tree  and  with  the 
waters  of  the  clear  fountain,  seemed  in  a  very  short  time  to 
grow  up  into  a  shepherd,  who  endeavored,  with  his  utmost 
powers,  to  seize  the  leaves  of  the  tree  with  whose  fruit  he  had 
been  fed.  In  the  midst  of  these  endeavors  he  seemed  to  fall 
down ;  and  on  arising  up  again  he  was  no  longer  a  man,  but  had 
become  a  peacock.  At  this  change  she  was  struck  with  so  much 
wonder  that  she  awoke;  and  little  time  elapsed  before  she  gave 
birth  to  a  son,  who,  with  the  consent  of  the  father,  was  called 
Dante,  and  deservedly  so;  Dante  being  an  abbreviation  of  Dur- 
ante, which  means  lasting,  enduring." 


A  Chapter  of  Poets.  397 

In  the  "  Vita  Nuova,"  he  tells  us  that  having  received  a 
pleasant  salutation  from  Beatrice  Portinari,  the  young  lady  of 
his  love,  "  I  quitted  the  company,  as  it  were,  in  a  state  of  intoxi- 
cation; and  retiring  to  my  chamber,  I  sat  down  to  meditate  on 
this  most  courteous  lady.  During  my  meditation  a  sweet  sleep 
came  over  me  in  which  appeared  a  wonderful  vision.  I  seemed 
to  see  in  my  chamber  a  cloud  as  red  as  fire,  in  the  midst  of  which 
I  discerned  the  figure  of  a  man  whose  aspect  struck  fear  into  the 
beholder,  whilst,  wonderful  to  say,  he  appeared  all  joy.  He  spoke 
of  many  things,  few  of  which  I  understood;  but  amongst  them 
was  this,  "  Ego  dominus  tuus/'  "  I  am  thy  master."  In  his  arms  I 
seemed  to  see  a  sleeping  figure,  naked,  except  a  slight  covering 
of  a  blood-red  colored  drapery;  but  looking  more  attentively,  I 
saw  that  it  was  my  lady  of  happiness,  who  had  condescended 
to  address  me  on  the  day  before.  In  one  of  his  hands  he  seemed 
to  hold  something  which  was  all  in  flames,  and  to  say  these  words, 
"  Vide  cor  tuum,"  "  Behold  thy  heart."  And  after  a  short  time, 
he  seemed  to  me  to  awaken  her  who  slept  and  to  exert  his  skill 
in  such  wise  that  he  forced  her  to  eat  that  which  was  burning  in 
his  hand — and  this  she  did  with  hesitation  and  fear.  He  stayed 
but  a  short  time  after  this,  but  his  joy  was  changed  into  a  most 
bitter  lamentation.  Weeping,  he  folded  her  in  his  arms,  and  with 
her,  directed  his  course  to  heaven. 

Dante  asked  his  friends  what  could  be  the  meaning  of  this 
life-like  vision;  and  several  of  them  wrote  him  explanations 
according  to  their  several  fancies — amongst  them  his  dearest 
friend,  Guido  Cavalcanti,  in  a  sonnet  commencing,  ''Videsti 
al  mio  parere  ogni  valore,"  but  time  was  the  only  true  inter- 
preter, and  that  quickly,  for  Beatrice  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four. 

As  Dante  believed  in  spirit  communication,  so  it  seems  that, 
after  his  death,  he  had  to  make  one  himself.  Boccaccio  relates 
the  circumstance  in  his  Life  of  Dante,  and  it  has  been  reprinted 
in  various  memoirs  of  him;  amongst  others,  in  one  prefixed  to 
this  edition  of  the  "  Divina  Commedia,"  by  Palma,  of  Naples, 
in  1827.  The  thirteen  last  cantos  of  the  "  Commedia  "  were  miss- 
ing and  all  efforts  to  discover  them  by  the  family  and  friends  of 
Dante,  who  were  themselves  accustomed  to  write  verses  and  were 


398  Book  of  Knowledge. 

much  importuned  by  their  friends  to  do  their  best  to  finish  their 
father's  work  in  order  that  it  might  not  remain  in  an  imperfect 
state,  were  without  any  result,  when  Jacopo  was  surprised  by  an 
extraordinary  vision,  which  not  only  took  the  presumptuous  notion 
of  finishing  the  great  work  of  his  father's  out  of  his  head,  but 
showed  him  where  the  thirteen  cantos  were.  A  worthy  citizen  of 
Ravenna,  named  Pietro  Giardino,  who  had  long  been  a  disciple  of 
Dante,  related  that  about  eight  months  after  the  death  of  his  mas- 
ter, one  night  a  littlebef  ore  dawn,  Jacopo,  Dante's  son,'came  to  his 
house  and  told  him  that  he  had  a  little  before  that  time  seen  Dante, 
his  father,  in  a  dream,  clothed  in  shining  garments,  and  with  an  un- 
usual light  shining  in  his  countenance ;  and  that  when  he  inquired 
of  the  apparition  if  it  yet  lived,  he  was  answered,  "  Yes,  real  life, 
not  such  as  yours."  Upon  which,  he  further  inquired  if  he  had 
finished  his  poem  before  passing  into  real  life,  and  if  so,  where 
was  the  remainder,  which  none  of  them  had  been  able  to  find. 
In  reply  to  which  he  received  the  following  answer,  "  Yes,  I  did 
finish  it ; "  and  then  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  spirit  took  him 
by  the  hand  and  led  him  to  the  chamber  in  which  he  generally 
slept  when  alive  and  touching  one  of  the  partitions,  said,  "  What 
you  have  so  much  sought  for  is  here,"  and  with  that  Dante  and 
his  dream  vanished.  He  then  stated  that  he  had  not  been  able  to 
rest  any  longer  till  he  had  come  to  tell  him  what  he  had  seen, 
in  order  that  they  might  go  together  and  search  the  place  pointed 
out,  which  was  firmly  imprinted  on  his  mind,  in  order  to  see 
whether  the  information  came  from  a  genuine  spirit  or  was  a 
delusion.  On  this  account,  although  the  night  was  not  yet  spent, 
he  arose  and  they  both  went  to  the  place  indicated  and  there  found 
some  hangings  fixed  on  the  wall,  and  having  slightly  raised  them, 
they  saw  in  the  wall  an  opening  which  none  of  them  had  ever 
seen  before,  or  known  to  be  there,  and  in  it  they  found  some 
manuscripts,  nearly  moulded  and  corrupted  by  the  dampness  of 
the  wall;  and  having  gently  cleansed  them  from  the  mould  and 
read  them,  they  found  them  to  be  the  thirteen  cantos  so  much 
sought  for  by  them.  They  then  placed  them  in  the  hands  of 
Messer  Cane  della  Scala,  as  the  author  himself  was  wont  to  do, 
who  joined  them  to  the  rest  of  the  work ;  and  the  work  which  had 
taken  so  many  years  to  prepare  was  at  length  finished." 


A  Chapter  of  Poets.  399 

Boccaccio  was  himself  a  profound  believer  in  Spiritualism. 
The  stories  of  the  Decameron  abound  with  proofs  of  the  love  of 
the  marvellous,  and  where  that  love  exists  there  is  sure  to  be 
more  or  less  faith.  He  drew  these  stories,  however,  not  from 
romance,  but  from  the  "  Chronicle  of  Helinandus,"  published  in 
1 21 2,  as  facts,  only  changing  the  names  of  persons  and  places. 
He  could  therefore  believe  and  relate  the  apparition  of  Dante  as 
a  reality.  The  change  of  his  own  life  had  been  occasioned  by 
a  prophetic  message.  In  1359,  Boccaccio  went  to  meet  Petrarch 
in  Milan,  and  on  his  return  he  stated  that  Petrarch  had  seriously 
advised  him  to  abandon  worldly  pleasures  and  fix  his  affections 
on  those  above.  In  1361  Petrarch  wrote  to  him  that  he  was  com- 
missioned by  Pietro  Petroni  of  Certosa — a  man  celebrated  for 
his  piety,  and  for  the  miracles  done  by  him,  who  had  died  in  May 
of  that  year — to  tell  him  that  amongst  the  things  impressed  on 
his  mind  on  his  death-bed  were,  that  not  many  years  of  life  re- 
mained to  Boccaccio,  and  that  he  would  do  well  to  abandon 
poetry.  This  fact,  more  fully  stated  by  Manni  and  by  the  Abbe 
de  Sade,  had  such  an  effect  on  the  mind  of  Boccaccio  that  he 
determined  not  only  to  abandon  poetry,  but  to  part  with  all  his 
books,  and  to  abandon  every  profane  study.  Petrarch  wisely 
counseled  him  that  it  was  by  no  means  necessary  to  relinquish 
all  polite  literature,  much  less  to  strip  himself  of  all  his  books 
but  to  make  good  use  of  them,  as  the  holy  fathers  and  doctors  of 
the  Church  had  done  in  all  ages.  Neither  the  life  nor  the  writings 
of  Boccaccio,  up  to  this  moment,  had  been  very  commendable  as 
the  Decameron  is  sufficient  evidence ;  but  he  now  adopted  the  cler- 
ical habit  and  commenced  the  study  of  sacred  literature,  in  which, 
however,  he  made  so  little  progress  that  he  again  relinquished  the 
pursuit.  In  this  passage  we  see  a  proof  of  Petrarch's  spiritual 
faith  as  well  as  of  Boccaccio's.  In  fact  Petrarch  was  profoundly 
penetrated  by  faith  in  the  spiritual  powers  of  the  Church. 

In  the  great  poems  of  both  Aristo  and  Tasso,  the  elements  of 
supernaturalism  run  to  perfect  riot.  Angels  and  archangels, 
prophets,  magicians,  and  devils,  are  the  active  agents  of  the 
events  celebrated.  These  were  all  founded  on  history,  both  sacred 
and  profane,  and  were  not  only  used  as  machinery,  but  believed 
in  by  these  master  poets. 


400  Book  of  Knowledge. 

The  very  first  words  of  Tasso,  in  the  "  Gerusalemne  Liberata," 
are  spirituaHstic  "  Manda  a  Tortosa  Dio  I'Angelo." 

Irx  the  words  of  Wiffen's  translation — "  God  of  Torsa  sends 
his  angel  down ; "  a  fit  opening  to  one  of  the  most  exuberant 
specimens  of  supernaturalism  in  any  language.  Scarcely  in 
Milton — who  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Tasso,  and  the  friend  of 
Tasso's  best  friend,  the  Marquis  Manso — are  the  conflicts  of  Diety 
and  demonism,  of  archangels  and  arch-fiends,  more  largely, 
boldly  and  vigorously  introduced.  As  Jupiter  from  Olympus 
looks  down  to  earth  in  Homer,  so  the  Eternal  Father  in  Tasso. 
As  the  one  sends  down  Mercury,  so  the  God  of  Christians  sends 
down  the  archangel  Gabriel  to  their  aid.  The  Prince  of  Darkness 
musters  his  powers  below  to  resist  the  hosts  of  the  Cross ;  Beel- 
zebub appears,  like  the  ancient  gods,  in  arms  in  the  field;  the 
fury,  Alecto,  fans  the  infernal  flame  of  strife ;  and  then  the  Arch- 
angel Michael  is  commissioned  to  rout  the  diabolic  powers.  But 
these  powers  reappear  in  the  shape  of  magic.  The  enchanted 
gardens  of  Armida,  the  spectral  forest  where  demon  serpents  and 
fierce  beasts  prowl,  and  where  every  tree  is  animated  by  its 
spirit,  are  familiar  to  the  reader.  Let  us  pass  this  as  fable  and 
view  the  poet  in  his  own  life  and  experience.  What  he  sung,  he 
there  acts  and  believes.  He  saw  and  conversed  with  spirits  and 
the  world  pronounced  him  mad.  He  was  mad  in  the  same  fashion 
as  millions  are  mad  now,  as  the  prophets  and  apostles  were  mad. 

It  is  now  fully  admitted,  by  all  who  have  carefully  examined 
the  matter,  that  Tasso  was  as  sane,  and  more  so,  than  those  who 
condemned  him  to  the  hospital  of  Santa  Anna  at  Ferrara.  It 
was  the  policy  of  that  most  vindictive  and  implacable  of  tyrants, 
Alphonso,  the  petty  Duke  of  Ferrara,  to  brand  Tasso  as  mad, 
because  he  had  presumed  to  fall  in  love  with  his  sister  Leonora 
D'Este.  That  sister  might  have  married  some  wealthy  duke  or 
prince  the  dull  and  gilded  grub  of  the  place  and  the  hour  and  have 
been  no  more  heard  of.  But  for  a  man  to  love  her  whose  prince- 
dom was  to  extend  over  all  time  and  was  to  cast  a  blazon  on 
even  the  meanest  thing  of  state  that  came  near  it,  was  an 
offense  only  to  be  expiated  by  the  most  shameful  and  detestable 
treatment  that  ever  genius  suffered  from  the  hands  of  pampered 
insignificance.    Those  men  of  intelligence  who  gained  admittance 


•     A  Chapter  of  Poets.  401 

to  the  great  poet — where,  amid  howHng  maniacs,  and  in  the  vilest 
squalor  and  contemptuous  neglect,  he  passed  his  days,  whilst 
publishers  far  and  near  were  enriching  themselves  by  his  plun- 
dered copyrights,  and  torturing  him  with  barbarous  issues  of 
his  noblest  poem — declared  unanimously  that  he  was  perfectly 
sane;  but  that,  though  he  was  not  mad,  he  had  suffered  enough 
to  have  driven  him  so.  Manso,  his  most  generous  and  faithful 
of  friends,  who  knew  him  intimately  at  this  and  after  this  time, 
declares  him  perfectly  sound  of  intellect;  and  during  the  short 
remaining  time  which  he  lived  after  his  seven  years  detention  in 
the  madhouse,  and  which  he  spent  in  honor  amid  popes,  cardinals, 
princes,  nobles  and  men  of  genius  of  all  kinds,  no  man  showed 
himself  more  sane.  That  he  was  restless  and  nervous  was  the 
consequence  of  his  long  cruel  treatment  from  many  causes  and 
many  men,  acting  on  such  a  finely-strung  temperament  as  could 
only  have  produced  the  "Jerusalem  Delivered."  It  was  the 
business  of  the  venal  Serrasi — the  tool  of  the  Estes,  and  who,  as 
has  been  pointed  out  by  my  old  school-fellow,  Jeremiah  Wiffen, 
the  elegant  translator  of  the  "Jerusalem,"  dedicated  his  work 
to  that  Maria  Beatrice  D'Este  who  would  not  even  permit  the 
name  of  Tasso  to  remain  attached  to  an  opera  of  his  performed 
before  her,  but  obliged  the  manager  to  substitute  for  it  that  of 
Lope  de  Vega! — it  was  his  business  to  endeavor  to  perpetuate 
the  stigma  of  insanity  which  the  little  despot  of  Ferrara  had 
stamped  on  him.  Manso,  and  later  Italian  biographers — in  Eng- 
land, Milman  and  Wiffen — have  sufficiently  exposed  the  base 
endeavor. 

In  his  "Ambassador,"  Tasso  introduces  a  dialogue  betwixt 
himself  and  a  spirit,  which,  however,  he  represents  as  merely 
imagined;  but  in  his  cell  at  Santa  Anna  he  assures  us  that  he 
was  visited,  pestered  and  plundered  by  mischievous  spirits  and 
especially  by  one  that  he  calls  Folletto  or  Sprite.  That  he  was 
robbed  by  his  keepers,  in  his  absence  from  his  room,  he  also  tells 
us;  but  he  makes  as  positive  statement  that  he  was  robbed  by 
the  spirits  when  he  was  present.  Flames,  he  says,  wreathed  and 
twined  themselves  across  the  walls  of  his  prison;  sparks  of  fire 
seemed  to  flash  from  his  own  eyes;  shadowy  forms  of  rats  and 
other  obscure  animals  glided  over  the  vault  of  his  room  where 


402 :  Book  of  Knowledge.       * 

they  could  not  possibly  be.  Strange  noises,  whistlings,  ringing 
and  tolling  of  bells  and  striking  of  clocks,  beset  him.  Horses 
trampled  on  him,  monsters  butted  him  in  his  bed.  All  these  things 
were,  of  course,  set  down  to  his  frenzy,  but  were  no  doubt,  the 
result  of  his  having,  by  his  tortures  of  mind  from  his  scandalous 
treatment,  been  raised  into  the  condition  in  which  the  spirit  puts 
forth  its  powers  energumenically,  and  takes  hold  on  the  spiritual 
world,  and  comes  into  startling  rapport  with  it.  His  letters  and 
gloves  and  money  were  drawn  out  of  locked  boxes  when  no  one 
was  there  but  himself  and  flung  about  the  place.  To  secure  his 
money  he  sent  it  out  of  the  prison  to  a  friend.  His  books  were 
flung  down  from  the  shelves,  a  loaf  was  snatched  out  of  his  own 
hands,  and  a  plate  of  fruit,  which  he  was  offering  to  a  Polish 
youth.  "  God  knows,"  he  says,  that  I  am  neither  a  magician  nor 
a  Lutheran,  that  I  never  read  heretical  books,  nor  those  which 
treat  of  necromancy,  nor  any  prohibited  art;  yet  I  can  neither 
defend  myself  from  thievish  men  when  I  am  absent,  nor  the  devil 
when  I  am  present.  To  comfort  him,  however,  he  says  that  he 
had  a  vision  of  the  Blessed  Virgin;  and  that  when  he  was  so 
reduced  by  illness  that  he  could  not  bear  medicine  any  longer, 
he  prayed  most  fervently  to  her,  and  was  instantly  cured.  He 
has  recorded  this  miraculous  cure  in  a  sonnet,  commencing, 
*•  Egro  lo,  languina,  e  d'alto  avinta." 

After  his  release  from  the  madhouse,  and  when  living  with 
Manso  at  his  country  estate  near  Bisaccio,  he  joined  in  all  the 
sports  and  pursuits  of  those  around  him.  Manso,  in  a  letter, 
says :  *'  The  Signior  Torquato  is  become  a  mighty  hunter,  and 
triumphs  over  all  the  asperity  of  the  season  and  of  the  country. 
When  the  days  are  bad,  we  spend  them  and  the  long  hours  of 
evening,  in  hearing  music  and  songs;  for  one  of  his  principal 
enjoyments  is  to  listen  to  the  improvvissatori,  whose  facility  for 
versification  he  envies.  Sometimes,  too,  we  dance  with  the  girls 
here,  a  thing  which  affords  him  much  pleasure;  but  we  chiefly 
sit  conversing  by  the  fire  and  often  we  have  fallen  into  discourse 
of  that  spirit  which,  he  says,  appears  to  him." 

Whether  grave  or  gay  this  spirit  often  came  to  him  and  he 
often  held  long  discourses  with  it.  Manso  endeavored  to  per- 
suade him  that  it  was  a  fancy ;  but  Tasso  maintained  that  it  was 


A  Chapter  of  Poets,  403 

as  real  as  themselves,  a  Christian  spirit,  and  which  Manso  admits 
gave  him  great  comfort  and  consolation.  Tasso,  to  convince 
Manso  of  the  reality  of  this  spirit,  begged  him  to  be  present  at 
an  interview.  Manso  says  that  he  saw  Tasso  address  himself 
to  some  invisible  object,  listen  in  return,  and  then  reply  to  what 
it  appeared  to  have  said.  He  says  that  the  discourses  of  Tasso 
"  were  so  lofty  and  marvellous,  both  by  the  sublimity  of  their 
topics  and  a  certain  unwonted  manner  of  talking,  that,  exalted 
above  myself  into  a  certain  kind  of  ecstacy,  I  did  not  dare  to  in- 
terrupt them.'*  Tasso  was  disappointed,  however,  that  Manso 
did  not  see  or  hear  the  spirit — which  he  ought  not  to  have  been, 
after  what  he  himself  tells  us,  that  to  see  spirits  the  human  eye 
must  be  purified,  or  the  spirits  must  array  themselves  in  matter. 
This  is  the  present  acknowledged  law  in  such  cases  of  appari- 
tions. They  who  see  them  must  be  mediums — that  is,  have  their 
spiritual  eyes  open — or  the  spirits  must  envelop  themselves  in 
matter  obvious  to  the  outer  eye.  Tasso  did  not  recollect  that 
Manso  might  not  be  in  the  clairvoyant  condition  in  which  he  him- 
self was;  and  Manso,  wholly  ignorant  of  these  psychological 
laws,  could  only  suppose  Tasso  dealing  with  a  subjective  idea. 
Yet  Manso  evidently  felt  the  presence  of  the  spirit,  for  he  was 
raised  by  it  "  into  a  kind  of  ecstasy,"  and  he  confesses  that 
Tasso's  spiritual  interviews  "  were  more  likely  to  affect  his  own 
mind  than  that  he  should  dissipate  Tasso's  true  or  imaginary 
opinion." 

To  the  tens  of  thousands  of  to-day  who  have  practically 
studied  these  phases  of  psychology,  the  whole  of  Tasso's  ex- 
perience is  simple  and  agreeable  to  familiar  fact,  and  places  the 
great  poet  in  the  numerous  class  of  those  who  have  been  treated 
as  visionaries,  because  they  really  were  more  clear-sighted  and 
more  matter-of-fact  than  their  horny-eyed  neighbors.  Perhaps 
Tasso  himself  did  not  comprehend  the  real  condition  of  those 
improvvissatori,  at  whose  facility  of  poetic  declamation  he  so 
much  wondered.  Improvisation  is  but  one  mode  of  mediumship. 
This  class  of  extempore  poets,  who  at  a  moment  break  forth  into 
very  sublime  and  wonderful  strains,  are  frequently  noted  in  their 
ordinary  moods  for  their  dull  and  commonplace  minds.  They  are 
but  the  flutes  and  trumpets  through  which  spiritual  poets  pour 
the  music  and  eloquence  of  other  spheres  for  the  occasion. 


404  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Turning  to  our  own  poets,  we  might  collect  evidences  from 
Chaucer  to  Shakespeare;  but  in  Milton  we  come  on  an  avowal 
that  has  been  a  thousand  times  quoted,  of  the  millions  of  spiritual 
beings  that  walk  the  earth  both  when  we  wake  and  when  we  sleep. 
In  his  "  Paradise  Lost,"  he  teaches  doctrines  since  taught  by 
Swedenborg,  and  now  accepted  by  thousands — of  the  soul  grow- 
ing so  gross  in  the  indulgence  of  sensual  tastes  in  this  life  that 
it  cannot  well  rise  from  it.  He  thinks  that  a  period  may  arrive 
when  men,  by  growing  spiritual  purity,  may  refine  the  body  al- 
most wholly  away.    Raphael  speaks: 

''  Time  may  come  when  man 
With  angels  may  participate,  and  find 
No  inconvenient  diet,  nor  too  light  fare; 
And  from  these  corporal  nutriments,  perhaps, 
Your  bodies  may  at  last  turn  all  to  spirit, 
Improved  by  tract  of  time,  and  winged,  ascend 
Ethereal  as  we;  or  may,  at  choice, 
Here  or  in  heavenly  paradises  dwell." 

Through  long  ages,  however,  a  different  condition  was  to 
follow  the  fall: 

"  But  when  lust. 
By  unchaste  looks,  loose  gestures,  and  foul  talk 
But  most  by  lewd  and  lavish  act  of  sin. 
Lets  in  defilement  to  the  inward  parts. 
That  soul  grows  clotted  by  contagion; 
Imbodies  and  imbrutes  till  she  quite  lose 
The  divine  property  of  her  first  being. 
Such  are  those  thick  and  gloomy  shadows  damp, 
Or  seen  in  charnel  vaults  and  sepulchres: 
Lingering  and  sitting  by  a  new-made  grave. 
As  loth  to  leave  the  body  that  it  loved, 
And  linked  itself  by  carnal  sensuality 
To  a  degenerate  and  degraded  state." 

In  his  prose  Milton  holds  the  same  language.  They  are  not 
the  Muses,  he  says,  but  the  "  Eternal  Spirit,  which  assists  with 


A  Chapter  of  Poets.  40S 

all  utterance  and  knowledge,  and  sends  but  his  Seraphim  with 
the  hallowed  fire  of  his  altar  to  touch  and  purify  the  lips  of 
whom  he  pleases." 

I  must  leave  to  some  other  hand  to  collect  from  the  long 
line  of  our  religious  poets,  Quarles,  Herrick,  Herbert,  Cowper, 
Keble,  as  well  as  from  Tennyson,  Mrs.  Browning,  Philip  Bailey 
and  others  the  numerous  Spiritualisms  that  are  scattered 
through  their  works.  There  are  abundance  of  such  in  Young's 
"  Nig'ht  Thoughts."    We  may  take  one : 

"  Smitten  friends 
Are  angels  sent  as  messengers  of  love; 
For  us  they  languish,  and  for  us  they  die: 
And  shall  they  languish,  shall  they  die  in  vain? 
Ungrateful,  shall  we  grieve  their  hovering  shades 
Which  wait  the  revolution  in  our  hearts? 
Shall  we  disdain  their  silent,  soft  address — 
Their  posthumous  advice  and  pious  prayer  ?  " 

From  the  many  like  admissions  in  Mrs.  Hemans  take  also 
one: 

"  Hast  thou  been  told  that  from  the  viewless  bourne 
The  dark  way  never  hath  allowed  return? 
That  all  which  tears  can  move  with  life  is  fled — 
That  earthly  love  is  powerless  on  the  dead? 
Believe  it  not." 

I  have  already  quoted  the  candid  avowal  of  Southey,  of  his 
belief  in  ghosts ;  the  evidences  of  the  Spiritualism  of  Byron  and 
Shelley;  and  as  to  Coleridge,  thoug'h  in  one  place  he  says  he 
has  seen  too  many  ghosts  to  believe  in  them,  in  another  we 
find  him  gravely  telling  a  ghost  story  in  'his  "  Table  Talk," 
whidh  is  given  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Spiritual  Magasine, 
p.  229.  As  for  their  contemporary,  Rogers,  he  pronounces 
SpirituaHsm  "  a  new  mode  of  sense,"  "  that  mysterious  guide," 

"That  oracle  to  man  in  mercy  given, 
Whose  voice  is  truth,  w'hose  wisdom  is  from  heaven." 
Roger's  Poems,  "The  Voyage  of  Columbus." 


4o6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  independent  of  his  large  use  of  apparition 
lore  in  both  his  prose  and  poetry,  condemns  the  narrow  preju- 
dice which  cannot  accept  it.  He  says,  "  We  talk  of  a  credulous 
vulgar  without  recollecting  that  there  is  a  vulgar  incredulity, 
whidh,  in  historical  matters  as  well  as  in  those  of  religion,  finds 
it  easier  to  doubt  than  to  examine;  and  endeavors  to  assume 
the  credit  of  an  esprit  fort  by  decrying  whatever  happens  to  be 
beyond  the  very  limited  comprehension  of  the  skeptic."  (In- 
troduction to  ''The  Fair  Maid  of  Perth.") 

In  the  opening  chapter  of  this  work  I  gave  some  specimens 
of  the  Spiritualism  of  Wordsworth;  and  as  his  inculcations  of 
it  are  both  bold  and  extraordinary,  I  close  this  chapter  with 
him. 

He  opens  the  third  part  of  "  Peter  Bell  "  with  these  remark- 
able stanzas: 

"  IVe  heard  of  one,  a  gentle  soul. 
Though  given  to  sadness  and  to  gloom. 
And  for  the  fact  will  vouch.     One  night 
It  chanced  that  by  a  taper's  light 
This  man  was  reading  in  his  room: 

Bending  as  you  or  I  might  bend 
At  night  o'er  any  pious  book. 
When  sudden  blackness  overspread 
The  snow-white  page  on  which  he  read, 
And  made  the  good  man  round  him  look. 

The  chamber  walls  were  dark  all  round, 

And  to  his  book  he  turned  again ; 

(The  lig'ht  had  left  the  good  man's  taper, 

And  formed  itself  upon  the  paper 

Into  large  letters,  bright  and  plain! 

The  godly  book  was  in  his  hand, 

And  on  the  page,  more  black  than  coal, 

Appeared,  set  forth  in  strange  array, 


A  Chapter  of  Poets,  407 

A  word — which  to  his  dying  day 
Perplexed  the  good  man's  gentle  soul. 

The  ghostly  word,  full  plainly  seen, 
Did  never  from  his  lips  depart; 
But  he  hath  said,  poor  gentle  wight! 
It  brought  full  many  a  sin  to  light 
Out  of  the  bottom  of  his  heart. 

Dread  spirits!  To  torment  the  good 
Why  wander  from  your  course  so  far, 
Disordering  color,  form  and  stature ! 
Let  good  men  feel  the  soul  of  nature, 
And  see  things  as  they  are. 

I  know  you,  potent  spirits,  well, 
How,  with  the  feeling  and  the  sense 
Playing,  ye  govern  foes  and  friends. 
Yoked  to  your  will  for  fearful  ends — 
And  this  I  speak  in  reverence! 

But  might  I  give  advice  to  you. 
Whom  in  my  fear  I  love  so  well. 
From  men  of  pensive  virtue  go, 
Dread  beings;  and  your  empire  show 
On  hearts  like  that  of  Peter  Bell. 

Your  presence  I  have  often  felt 

In  darkness  and  the  stormy  night; 

And  well  I  know,  if  need  there  be. 

Ye  can  put  forth  your  agency 

When  earth  is  calm  and  heaven  is  bright. 

Then  coming  from  the  wayward  world. 
That  powerful  world  in  which  ye  dwell. 
Come  spirits  of  the  mind!  and  try 
To-nigfht,  beneath  the  moonlight  sky. 
What  may  be  done  with  Peter  Bell." 


4o8  Book  of  Knowledge, 

He  adds: 

"  There  was  a  time  when  all  mankind 
Did  Hsten  with  a  faith  sincere 
To  tuneful  tongues  in  mystery  versed." 

In  his  "Ecclesiastical  Sketches,"  Sonnet  xviii,  he  says: 

"Death,  darkness,  danger  are  our  natural  lot, 
And  evil  spirits  may  our  walk  attend 
For  aught  the  wisest  know,  or  comprehend. 
Then  be  good  spirits,  free  to  breathe  a  note 
Of  elevation;  let  their  odors  float 
Around  these  converts :  and  their  glories  blend, 
Outshining  nightly  tapers,  or  the  blaze 
Of  the  noonday.     Nor  doubt  that  golden  cords 
Of  good  works,  mingling  with  the  visions,  raise 
The  soul  to  purer  worlds." 

What  Wordsworth  taught  in  song  he  asserted  also  in  actual 
life.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wordsworth,  returning  once  from  Cam- 
bridge where  they  had  been  paying  a  visit  to  the  poet's  brother, 
Dr.  Wordsworth,  Master  of  Trinity  College,  related  to  us  this 
occurrence.  A  young  man  having  just  come  to  enter  himself 
a  student  at  Trinity,  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Dr. 
Wordsworth,  and  on  presenting  it,  asked  if  the  master  could 
recommend  to  him  comfortable  chambers.  Dr.  Wordsworth 
mentioned  to  him  some  then  vacant  and  the  young  man  took 
them.  In  a  few  days,  seeing  him.  Dr.  Wordsworth  asked  him 
how  he  liked  them.  He  replied  that  the  chambers  themselves 
were  very  convenient,  but  that  he  should  be  obliged  to  leave 
them.  Dr.  Wordsworth  asking  for  what  reason,  the  young 
man  replied  that  he  might  think  him  fanciful,  but  the  rooms 
were  haunted.  That  he  had  been  awakened  each  night  by  a  child 
that  wandered  about  the  rooms  moaning,  and  strange  to  say, 
with  the  palms  of  its  hands  turned  outwards.  That  he  had 
searched  his  rooms,  found  them  on  each  occasion  securely 
locked,  and  that  nothing  but  an  apparition  could  thus  traverse 
them.     Dr.  Wordsworth  said,  he  would  now  be  candid  with 


A  Chapter  of  Poets.  409 

him;  that  these  rooms  had  been  repeatedly  abandoned  by 
students  who  asserted  the  same  thing,  but  having  perfect  re- 
Hance  on  his  veracity  and  judgment  from  What  he  had  heard 
of  him,  he  was  desirous  to  see  whether  he  would  confirm  the 
story,  having  had  no  intimation  of  it  beforehand.  I  relate  the 
account  from  memory  after  the  lapse  of  a  good  many  years, 
but  I  believe  it  to  be  substantially  correct.  Whether  the  young 
man  thanked  the  doctor  for  his  recommendation  of  such  lodg- 
ings does  not  appear. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
SWEDENBORG'S  SPIRITUAL  DEVELOPMENT. 

BY  WILLIAM   HOWITT. 

Swedenborg  was  born  at  Stockholm,  in  Sweden,  being  the 
second  son  of  Dr.  Jasper  Swedberg,  Bishop  of  Skara,  who  was 
a  voluminous  author  on  various  subjects,  and  a  man  of  great 
talent  and  influence,  descending  from  a  mining  family  of  the 
Stora  Kopparberg,  or  great  copper  mountain.  His  mother 
was  also  the  daughter  of  Albrecht  Behm,  the  Assessor  of  the 
Royal  Board  of  Mines.  Thus  he  was  born  and  brought  up 
amongst  mining  affairs,  and  he  himself  in  after  years  became 
also  Royal  Assessor  of  Mines.  He  altered  his  name  from 
Swedberg  to  Swedenborg,  as  Burns,  the  poet,  altered  his  name 
from  Burness.  He  was  very  completely  educated  at  the  Great 
University  at  Upsala;  and  he  became  so  intimate  with  the 
Latin  language  that  he  wrote  all  his  works  in  it.  He  accom- 
plished himself  by  extensive  travel,  and  everywhere  made 
acquaintances  with  celebrated  men,  especially  those  distin- 
guished in  mathematics,  astronomy  and  mechanics.  Charles 
XII  appointed  liim  Extraordinary  Assessor  of  Mines.  He 
went  on  writing  numerous  works  on  science  and  the  arts.  On 
"  Algebra,"  the  "  Decimal  System  " ;  on  the  "  Motion  and  Posi- 
tion of  the  Earth  and  Planets  " ;  on  "  Docks,  Sluices  and  Salt 
Works  " ;  on  the  "  Principles  of  Natural  Philosophy  " ;  "  The 
Principia,  First  Principles  of  Natural  Things,"  which,  in  fact, 
had  no  less  design  than  to  trace  out  a  true  system  of  the  world. 
Next  followed  "  Outlines  of  a  Philosophical  Argument  on  the 
Infinite  " ;  "  Dissertations  on  the  Nervous  Fibre  and  the  Nerv- 
ous Fluid,"  then  a  great  work  on  the  "  Economy  of  the  Animal 
Kingdom."  He  then  set  about  to  study  anatomy  and  the 
whole  system  of  the  human  frame. 

But  this  was  only  as  an  introduction  and  qualification  for 


Swedenborg's  Spiritual  Development.  411 

the  object  of  investigating  the  soul.  Having  done  this,  he 
wrote  a  work  on  the  "  Worship  and  Love  of  God,"  as  the  result 
of  his  studies,  and  the  completion  of  his  other  works.  The 
second  part  of  this  included  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  of  the 
soul  and  the  intellect ;  but,  here,  when  he  seemed  to  think  this 
portion  of  his  work  concluded,  he  found  that  he  was  only  be- 
ginning. All  his  labors  and  inquiries  had  been  tending  to  a 
development  of  which  he  had  no  intimation.  Suddenly,  whilst 
he  was  in  London  engaged  in  the  publication  of  this  work  he 
had  a  vision  of  the  Lord,  and  his  eyes  were  opened  to  see  into 
the  spiritual  world.  This  he  says  occurred  in  1743;  conse- 
quently, when  he  was  fifty-five  years  of  age.  He  had  devoted 
himself  to  writing  on  the  natural  sciences,  he  says,  about  thirty 
years;  and  from  this  time  he  gave  them  all  up,  and  devoted 
himself  to  supernatural  inquiry,  and  the  explanation  of  the 
Scriptures,  through  these,  for  nearly  thirty  years  more,  or  until 
the  age  of  eighty-four.  He  says  at  this  time  "  God  opened  my 
sight  to  the  view  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  granted  me  the 
privilege  of  conversing  with  spirits  and  angels."  The  Lord, 
he  was  informed,  had  prepared  him  for  elucidating  the  spiritual 
sense  of  the  word.  For  many  years  before  his  mind  was  thus 
opened,  and  he  was  enabled  to  speak  with  spirits,  he  had 
dreams  informing  him  of  the  subjects  on  which  he  was  writing, 
and  a  peculiar  light  in  the  writings.  Afterwards,  many  visions 
when  his  eyes  were  shut;  light  miraculously  given,  spirits  in- 
fluencing him  sensibly  as  if  they  appealed  to  the  bodily  sense, 
temptations  from  evil  spirits  almost  overwhelming  him  wit'h 
horror,  fiery  Hghts,  words  spoken  in  early  morning,  and  many 
similar  events  ("  Diary,"  2951).  He  says  that  an  inward  spirit- 
ual breathing  was  opened  up  to  him,  and  his  spirit  breathed  the 
divine  atmosphere  directly  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  he  con- 
siders as  essential  to  a  perfectly  spiritual  state,  and  to  occur  in 
all  apostles  and  holy  persons  who  live  and  act  under  immediate 
inspiration.  We  have  seen  that  persons  in  the  old  pagan  world 
occasionally  entered  the  spirit-world,  as  Epimenides  and  Her- 
motimus,  who,  returning,  related  what  they  had  seen;  but  Swe- 
denborg's  condition  was  different  and  superior  to  theirs.  During 
the  absence  of  their  spirits,  their  bodies  lay  as  dead,  but  Swe- 


412  Book  of  Knowledge. 

denborg  could  enter  the  spirit-world,  yet  appear  to  be  present 
and  acting  in  this.  He  did  not,  however,  arrive  at  the  perfect 
enjoyment  of  these  two  states,  and  the  power  of  voluntarily 
passing  from  one  to  the  other  for  some  time.  He  now  poured 
forth  rapidly,  considering  the  colossal  nature  of  the  works 
themselves,  his  spiritual  productions.  First  came  his  "  Ar- 
cana Coelestia,"  or  exposition  of  the  spiritual  sense  of  the 
books  of  Genesis  and  Exodus.  This  consisted  of  eight  vol- 
umes quarto.  Then  followed  a  whole  library  of  volumes,  the 
chief  among  which  are  the  "  Last  Judgment  and  Destruction  of 
Babylon";  "Heaven  and  Hell";  the  "White  Horse  of  the 
Apocalypse  " ;  the  "  Planets  of  the  Solar  System  and  their  In- 
habitants ";  the  "  New  Jerusalem  and  its  Heavenly  Doctrine  "; 
several  other  volumes  on  the  "  New  Jerusalem " ;  on  the 
"  Divine  Love  and  Divine  Wisdom" ;  "  Concerning  Conjugal 
Love,"  etc.,  on  the  "  Intercourse  between  the  Soul  and  the 
Body  " ;  the  "  Apocalypse  Revealed,  and  the  Apocalypse  Ex- 
plained " ;  the  "  True  Christian  Religion,"  etc.  In  these  spirit- 
ual works  he  frequently  announces  great  scientific  truths  which 
are  now,  from  time  to  time,  proving  themselves  such.  It  is 
now  regarded  as  a  surprising  discovery  of  Professors  Kirchoff 
and  Bunsen,  that  they  have  found  iron  to  exist  in  the  body  of 
the  sun,  by  tracing  its  effects  to  the  solar  rays.  That  this  was  a 
fact  Swedenborg  asserted  a  century  ago.  The  scientific  men 
are  continually  asking  for  the  Spiritualists  to  announce  before- 
hand unknown  natural  facts.  This  is  one  instance  out  of  many 
in  which  Swedenborg,  Anaxagoras  announced  that  the  sun 
was  a  great  mass  of  mineral. 

Many  of  these  works  have  been  translated  into  French  and 
German,  as  well  as  into  English,  which  latter  are  published  by 
the  Swedenborgian  Society.  They  may  be  read  and  they  arc 
now  extensively  read,  and  their  truths  taught,  as  I  have  said, 
by  men  who  are  little  suspected  of  it.  The  pulpits  of  both 
Church  and  Dissent  are  invaded  by  Swedenborg.  There  are 
also  excellent  and  concise  lives  of  him  in  English  by  Dr.  Wil- 
kinson and  Mr.  William  White.  I  shall  conclude  by  quoting 
a  passage  or  two  from  the  former.  "  A  visitant  of  the  spirit- 
ual world,  Swedenborg  has  described  it  in  lively  colors,  and  it 


Swedenborg's  Spiritual  Development.  413 

would  appear  it  is  not  at  all  like  what  modern  ages  would  have 
deemed.  According  to  some,  it  is  a  speck  of  abstraction,  in- 
tense with  saving  faith  and  other  things  of  terms.  Only  a  few 
of  the  oldest  poets — always  excepting  the  Bible — have  shad- 
owed it  forth  with  any  degree  of  reality,  as  spacious  of  man- 
kind. There  Swedenborg  is  at  one  with  them,  only  that  he  is 
more  sublimely  homely  regarding  our  future  dwelling  place. 
The  spiritual  world  is  the  same  old  world  of  God  in  a  higher 
sphere.  Hill  and  valley,  plain  and  mountain,  are  as  apparent 
there  as  here.  The  evident  difference  lies  in  the  multiplicity 
and  perfection  of  objects.  The  spiritual  world  is  essential 
nature  and  spirit  besides.  Its  inhabitants  are  men  and  women, 
and  their  circumstances  are  societies,  houses  and  lands,  and 
whatever  belongs  thereto.  The  commonplace  foundation 
needs  no  moving  to  support  the  things  which  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  heart  of  man  conceived.  .  .  . 
Stone  and  wood,  bird  and  animal,  sea  and  sky,  are  acquaint- 
ances which  we  meet  with  in  the  spiritual  sphere,  in  our  latest 
manhood  or  angelhood,  equally,  as  in  the  dawn  of  the  senses, 
before  the  grave  is  gained  "  (p.  96). 

Again,  "  Our  crotchet  of  the  abstract  nobleness  of  spirits 
receives  there  a  rude  shock.  Our  fathers'  souls  are  no  better 
than  ourselves ;  no  less  mean  and  no  less  bodily,  and  their 
occupations  are  often  more  unworthy  than  our  own.  A  large 
part  of  their  doings  read  like  police  reports.  Even  the  angels 
are  but  good  men  in  a  favoring  sphere;  we  may  not  worship 
them,  for  they  do  not  deserve  it;  at  best  they  are  of  our 
brethren  the  prophets.  It  is  very  matter-of-fact;  death  is  no 
change  of  substantial.  The  same  problems  occur  after  it, 
and  man  is  left  to  solve  them.  Nothing  but  goodness  and 
truth  are  thriving.  There  is  no  rest  beyond  the  tomb,  but  in 
the  peace  of  God  which  was  rest  before  it." 

Spiritualism  uniformly  confirms  these  views,  especially  of 
the  intermediate  regions.  And  also  that  "  the  ear'thly  soul 
clings  to  the  ground  and  gravitated  earthward  dragging  the 
chain  of  impure  affections  contracted  in  the  world;  spirits 
haunt  their  old  remembered  places  attached  by  undying  ideas. 
Hatred  and  revenge,  pride  and  lust,  persist  in  their  cancerous 


414  Book  of  Knowledge. 

spreading,  and  wear  away  incurable  heart-strings.  Infidelity 
denies  God  most  in  spirit  and  the  spiritual  world;  nay,  staked 
on  death,  it  ignores  eternity  in  the  eternal  state  with  gnashing 
teeth  and  hideous  clenches,  and  the  proof  of  spirit  and  im- 
mortal life  is  farther  oflf  than  ever."  An  awful  lesson!  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  better  regions,  "  noble  offices  are  a  sign 
to  finite  things,  as  of  attending  the  birth  of  the  newly  dead  into 
the  spiritual  state,  of  educated  departed  infants  and  simple 
spirits,  of  governing  sleep  and  infusing  dreams  and  of  indefinite 
other  things  besides,  which  constitute  a  department  of  the 
duties  of  the  human  race  translated  into  the  sp'here  of  spiritual 
industry.  For  heaven  is  the  grand  workman;  the  moments  of 
the  eternal  Sabbath  are  strokes  of  deeds,  and  the  more  of  these 
can  be  given  to  be  done  by  men  and  angels,  the  more  is  the 
creation  real,  because  cooperating  with  God. 

A  serious  truth  is  stated  by  Swedenborg  in  his  "  Diary  " ; 
namely,  that  "  all  confirmations  in  matters  pertaining  to  theol- 
ogy are,  as  it  were,  glued  fast  into  the  brains  and  can  with 
difficulty  be  removed;  and,  while  they  remain,  genuine  truths 
can  find  no  place.  This  is  what  I  have  so  often  noticed  in  this 
work — the  difficulty  of  erasing  educational  dogmas  and  modes 
of  thinking,  however  erroneous.  He  also  states  the  great  fact 
so  constantly  shown  by  Spiritualism,  that  in  spiritual  inter- 
course like  seeks  like  and  the  spiritual  condition  of  a  man  may 
be  known  by  the  spirits  which  seek  through  him — that  is,  habit- 
ually; for  bad  spirits  will  seek  to  deceive  and  confound  the 
good,  too,  and  more  especially  in  their  first  entrance  into  spirit- 
ual conditions,  in  order  to  drive  them  out  of  them.  These  are 
repelled  by  faith  and  prayer.  As  to  the  seeing  and  communing 
with  spirits,  Swedenborg  says  it  is  a  natural  condition  of  man 
which  has  been  lost  only  by  his  gross  and  degraded  state.  The 
review  of  the  history  of  Swedenborg  draws  from  his  biographer 
remarks  which  thousands  are  now  making: 

"  Nothing  is  more  evident  to-day  than  that  men  of  facts  are 
afraid  of  a  large  number  of  important  facts.  All  the  spiritual 
facts,  of  which  there  are  plenty  in  every  age,  are  renounced  as 
superstitions.  The  best  attested  spirit  stories  are  not  well 
received  by  that  scientific  courtesy  which  takes  off  its  grey  cap 


Swedenborg's  Spiritual  Development.  415 

to  a  new  beetle  or  fresh  vegetable  alkaloid.  Large-wigged 
science  behaves  worse  to  our  ancestors  than  to  our  vermin. 
Evidence  on  spiritual  subjects  is  regarded  as  impertinence  by 
the  learned;  so  timorous  are  they,  and  so  morbidly  fearful  of 
ghosts.  If  they  were  not  afraid  they  would  investigate;  but 
nature  is  to  them  a  churchyard  in  which  they  must  whistle  their 
dry  tunes  to  keep  up  their  courage.  They  should  come  to 
Swedenborg  who  has  made  ghosts  themselves  a  science.  As 
the  matter  stands,  we  are  bold  to  say  that  there  is  no  class  that 
so  little  follows  its  own  rules  of  uncaring  experiment  and  induc- 
tion, or  has  so  little  respect  for  facts  as  the  hard-headed  scien- 
tific men.  They  are  attentive  enough  to  a  class  of  facts  that 
nobody  values — beetles,  spiders  and  fossils;  but  to  those  clear 
facts  that  common  men  and  women,  in  all  times  and  places, 
have  found  full  of  interest,  wonder  or  importance  they  show 
them  a  deaf  ear  and  a  callous  heart.  Science  in  this  neglects 
its  mission,  which  is  to  give  us  in  knowledge  a  transcript  of  the 
world,  and  primarily  of  that  in  the  world  which  is  nearest  and 
dearest  to  the  soul." 


CHAPTER  XVL 

A  MESSAGE  FROM  LORD  BACON. 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  Spiritualism,  by  Judge 
John  W.  Edmonds  and  Geo.  T.  Dexter,  M.D. : 

Monday,  May  9,  1853. 

This  evening,  at  my  library,  I  read  over  to  Dr.  Dexter  the 
minutes  of  last  evening's  interview,  and  it  was  written: 

"  There  is  no  state  of  existence.  Judge,  but  has  its  better 
spirits  above  it.  There  is  no  mind  so  advanced  and  enlightened 
but  there  is  a  mind  more  developed,  more  progressed,  to  which 
the  other  will  look  with  deference  and  respect.  If  this  obtains 
on  earth,  how  much  more  should  this  law  exert  its  full  influence 
among  spirits  ?  It  is  a  singular  fact,  in  the  progress  of  all  things 
on  earth,  that  the  most  inferior  plant  can,  by  cultivation,  be 
made  to  manifest  properties  entirely  distinct  from  the  original, 
yet  retain  all  the  characteristic  features  of  the  germ.  Now  you 
take  a  peach,  and  in  its  original  form  it  is  almost  worthless, 
yet  by  cultivation  you  develop  the  fruit  to  that  degree  of  perfec- 
tion that  of  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  it  is  most  sought  for  and 
admired.  These  simple  facts  are  pertinent  illustrations  of  the 
great  law  which  had  its  beginning  with  God,  and  will  end  only 
when  the  Creator  is  unable  to  execute  the  laws  he  has  established. 

"  Thus  all  progressed  spirits  have  above  them  other  spirits, 
who  have  passed  through  the  death  of  the  spheres,  and  therefore 
have  become  so  much  more  ethereal  and  refined  that  those  in  the 
sphere  below  necessarily  cannot  see  them.  And  though  I  pretend 
to  a  certain  degree  of  advancement,  yet  there  are  conditions  above 
my  sphere  where  reside  spirits  whose  bodies  I  cannot  behold,  only 
when  my  mind,  like  your  own,  is  in  such  a  state  that  they  act  upon 
it,  as  certain  spirits  did  on  yours  by  visions  and  imagery. 

"  Your  learned  men  ascribe  the  nucleus  of  all  worlds  to  what 
they  call  gaseous  bodies,  or  nuclei.     Supposing  this  to  be  true, 


A  Message  from  Lord  Bacon.  417 

through  what  processes  of  growth  and  development  they  must 
have  passed  to  have  arrived  at  that  stage  or  state  where  they 
have  become  fit  habitations  for  men! 

"  All  species  of  the  apple,  it  is  said,  are  derived  from  the 
simple  crab  apple.  And  what  variety,  without  number,  you  find 
in  size,  shape,  coloring,  taste  and  flavor!  Now,  this  is  eminently 
true  with  regard  to  man;  and  though  I  cannot  say  he  was  de- 
rived from  one  source  or  one  being,  yet  your  knowledge  of  the 
various  races,  species,  genera,  and  orders  must  satisfy  you  that 
in  every  age  of  the  world  some  new  property  has  been  developed 
in  him,  and  this  in  proportion  to  his  situation  and  connection, 
until  at  the  present  day,  the  race  of  men  now  moving  and  con- 
trolling the  affairs  of  life  have  further  advanced,  and  manifest 
more  of  the  true  characteristics  of  his  proper  nature,  than  all 
classes  or  nations  who  have  preceded  it. 

"  There  is  a  necessity  for  an  advance  toward  perfection  in 
everything  created  by  God.  Of  what  purpose  was  it  that  he 
created  worlds,  and  filled  them  with  intelligent  beings,  capable 
of  understanding  and  learning  from  every  manifestation  of  His 
power  around  them  the  effects  which  certain  laws  He  has  estab- 
lished have  produced?  Of  what  purpose  was  it  that  He  should 
have  created  them  if  He  had  intended  that  they — man  or  men — 
should  have  remained  in  a  state  of  abeyance?  Of  what  use  that 
the  sprig  should  have  been  lopped  off  from  the  oak  itself  ? 

"  God  could  just  as  well  have  created  man  without  a  soul  as 
with  an  intelligent  one ;  and  certainly  it  appears  to  me  reasonable 
that  in  planting  within  his  body  a  spirit  susceptible,  comprehen- 
sive, and  intelligent,  he  intended  that  spirit  should  not  be  satis- 
fied till  it  had  grasped  everything  within  the  scope  of  its  faculties. 
There  is  one  idea  which  has  often  occurred  to  me  since  I  left 
the  earth,  and  that  is,  that  if  it  were  not  intended  that  both  spirit 
and  matter  should  progress,  God  would  probably  have  created 
man  with  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  his  nature,  ready  de- 
veloped at  his  creation.  For  were  it  denied  that  the  intention  of 
his  creation  was  his  steady  advancement,  the  mind,  when  it  had 
mastered  one  position,  would  still  have  remained  the  same  as 
before  it  recognized  a  new  idea.  There  could  not  have  been  any 
appreciation  of  anything  before  it,  and  instead  of  knowledge 


41 8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

enlarging  its  range  of  desire  and  thought,  it  would  have  left  it 
in  the  same  condition  as  it  found  it.  What  think  you  ?  On  this 
great  principle  is  based,  as  before  stated,  all  the  law  and  the 
spirits. 

"  Now  about  ourselves.  And  though  I  talk  to  you,  my  friend, 
I  want  you  to  understand  that  I  include  the  Doctor,  in  everything 
I  say.  Writing  through  him  as  a  medium,  I  sometimes  do  not 
realize  that  he  is  present;  but  enough  of  that,  too. 

"  I  feel  that  your  thoughts  have  been  occupied  in  digesting 
the  great  truths  taught  last  night  by  Swedenborg.  I  am  writing 
through  the  hand  of  Dr.  Dexter;  and  to  many  persons,  looking 
on  and  beholding  the  use  of  the  same  expressions  as  you  adopt 
on  earth,  they  would  remark  on  its  foolishness  and  absurdity  as 
a  spirit  manifestation.  But  look  at  the  ideas  we  inculcate,  regard 
the  thoughts  we  express;  and  if  in  the  whole  history  of  written 
human  thought  there  is  anything  that  can  approach  it,  either  in 
the  magnitude  of  the  ideas  or  the  profundity  of  the  thoughts, 
then  I  am  heartily  willing  it  should  be  said  to  be  a  farce. 

'^  But  when  man,  as  have  you,  my  friend,  shall  have  looked 
into  nature  with  eyes  that  do  not  blink  at  the  dazzling  gems  she 
holds  up  before  them ;  when  man,  like  you,  has  from  his  inmost 
heart  yearned  for  some  rational  explanation  of  the  longing  desire 
to  understand  your  own  immortality;  and  from  the  dark  abyss 
beyond  this  life  he  shall  have  presented  to  his  understanding 
the  radiance,  the  glory,  the  unsurpassing  loveliness  of  truth,  and 
is  willing  to  receive  and  adopt  it,  then  shall  old  things  indeed 
pass  away,  then  shall  shallow  doubts  give  way  to  confirmation 
strong  as  the  eternal  principles  of  his  own  nature  and  in  the 
ecstatic  joy  of  a  developed  mind,  he  will  find,  as  you  have  found, 
how  great  the  joy  of  believing. 

Bacon/' 

I  remarked,  that  1  was  yesterday  reading  some  of  his  essays 
written  when  in  life,  and  I  came  across  some  which  denounced 
the  love  between  the  sexes;  which  said  that  no  man  could  be 
great  who  had  such  love,  and  that  great  things  had  been  done 
only  by  those  men  who  had  no  wife  or  children.  Now,  I  wanted 
to  know  if  he  entertained  the  same  sentiments  now?  He  wrote 
in  answer: 


A  Message  from  Lord  Bacon.  419 

*'  Oh !  how  little  I  understood  the  true  character  of  the  heart's 
affection!  What  a  confined  idea  I  had  of  the  soul's  capacity! 
But  I  am  sure  there  is  no  man,  no  matter  what  his  abilities — no 
matter  how  great  the  power  of  his  mind — who  can  arrive  at  any 
eminence  in  the  world  you  inhabit,  excepting  his  heart  is  filled 
with  love  to  all  and  everything  created  by  God,  and  who  is  not 
capable  of  appreciating  affection's  response  in  every  human  heart. 

"  The  law  of  God's  creation  in  all  its  workings  is  love ;  and 
had  it  not  been  for  your  affection,  your  devoted  love,  you  would 
have  burrowed  in  the  mire  of  your  own  natural  desires,  and  never 
have  arrived  at  the  position  you  occupy. 

"  Don't  refer  me  to  my  earthly  absurdities." 

I  remaiked  that  there  was  another  question  I  wished  to  ask: 
It  was  evident  that  he  was  a  progressed  spirit  and  from  all  the 
teachings  it  appeared  that  he  could  roam  at  pleasure  amid  scenes 
where  all  was  joy  and  happiness.  Yet  it  seemed  that  much  of 
the  time  he  was  near  me,  and  of  course  on  this  earth,  and  affected 
by  its  sorrows  and  sufferings.  Now  what  I  wanted  to  know  was, 
what  good  it  did  him  to  be  near  this  earth?  He  answered  in 
these  words: 

"Judge  Edmonds,  that  I  am  with  you  much,  I  have  before 
told  you.  Why  I  am  with  you  I  have  partially  stated.  I  am  as 
much  interested  in  the  advancement  of  your  race,  both  on  earth 
and  in  the  spirit-land,  as  you  are  and  have  been  in  ameliorating 
the  condition  of  one  class  of  your  unfortunate  fellow-creatures. 
I  am  not  exclusively  reading  your  mind  all  the  time  I  am  with 
you;  and  being  with  you,  is  a  comparative  expression.  To  wish 
to  be  with  you  is  to  be  there.  To  wish  to  be  thousands  of  miles 
away,  is  to  be  there  immediately  the  wish  is  formed.  While  with 
you  I  sometimes  converse  with  spirits  who  accompany  me,  and 
who  have,  under  my  direction,  charge  of  certain  duties.  At  times, 
even  in  your  library,  I  teach  the  high  destinies  of  their  nature  to 
certain  unprogressed  spirits,  whom  I  persuade  to  attend  me  there. 
At  other  times,  I  read  and  reflect,  at  others  witnessing  the  work- 
ing of  your  mind. 

"  Then,  again,  I  listen  to  your  conversation  with  your  friends 
or  visitors ;  but  the  advanced  spirits  never  witness  any  act  of  man 
which  is  improper  to  be  noticed  by  any  other  person,  that  is,  any 


420  Book  of  Knowledge. 

necessary  or  proper  act  of  life.  When  you  suffer  we  try  to 
assuage.  When  you  are  tired  we  study  to  suggest  a  remedy; 
and  when  you  are  ill  we  call  around  you  those  in  whom  you  have 
confidence,  and  they  endeavor  to  relieve  you  by  controlling  your 
nervous  system.  The  great  object  of  progression  is  not  confined 
to  a  locality  or  sphere,  to  a  neighborhood  or  person.  You  are 
as  much  interested  as  we  are;  and  when  an  idea  is  generated 
on  earth  which  advances  your  material  or  spiritual  condition  in 
the  least,  we  feel  the  influence  of  that  progressive  step,  and  are 
attracted  to  the  source  from  which  it  emanates,  and  endeavor  to 
make  you  feel  the  full  effect  of  the  influence,  as  we  know  you 
ought  to  appreciate  it.    I  think  your  question  is  answered." 

I  said,  no,  not  entirely,  and  I  was  apprehensive  that  I  had 
not  worded  it  so  as  to  convey  the  precise  idea  I  intended.  My 
object  had  been,  not  to  inquire  so  much  whether  it  afforded  him 
pleasure,  as  it  was  to  ascertain  what  good  it  did  him,  or  what 
advantage  it  was  to  him  thus  to  be  near  the  earth.  Thus,  it  had 
been  said  that  my  wife's  progression  had  been  advanced  by  her 
dealings  with  me,  so  what  I  wanted  to  know  was,  whether  his 
progression  was  in  like  manner  advanced  by  his  connection  with 
earth? 

"  In  brief,  yes.  Every  act  that  man  or  spirit  accomplishes 
for  good,  is  just  so  far  a  step  forward  in  the  development  of  his 
nature.  Your  wife,  in  accomplishing  what  she  has  done,  found 
her  reward  in  the  increased  flow  of  all  those  affections  which  con- 
tribute to  the  elevation  of  her  character. 

"  Besides,  in  directing  your  mind  to  the  anxious  inquiry  after 
the  truth  of  spirit-intercourse,  she  developed  traits  in  your  mind 
which  had  slumbered  there  since  first  it  was  exercised  by  thought ; 
and  as  this  was  generating  an  idea  for  good,  she,  as  the  instru- 
ment, felt  the  revivifying  effect  of  that  act.  No  man  does  a  good 
act  but  his  nature  is  bettered ;  and  it  is  the  property  of  goodness 
that  it  never  loses  anything  by  cultivation.  It  has  a  reciprocal 
effect.  She  has  had  her  reward.  I,  too,  shall  have  my  reward; 
but  my  labors  are  not  yet  done. 

Bacon.'' 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

GLEANINGS    FROM    LIFE    AND    THE  NEW    TESTA- 
MENT. 

Ask,  and  it  shall  he  given  you;  seek,  and  ye  shall  iind;  knock 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.    St.  Matthew,  Chap.  VII,  7. 

So  spoke  Jesus  in  His  sermon  on  the  Mount  and  how  true. 
So  many  of  the  people  ask  me,  "  why  do  /  not  get  some  mes- 
sage from  those  who  have  passed  away?"  Dear  reader,  let  me 
answer  you.  Give  your  dear  ones  who  have  passed  to  the  higher 
life  an  opportunity  to  come  to  you  and  see  how  gladly  they  will 
grasp  it.  "  For  when  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  My 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them."  St.  Matthew  XVIII,  20. 
Do  you  understand  the  meaning  of  the  above  chapter,  dear 
reader  ?  If  not,  just  let  us  explain  it  in  our  way.  "  When  two 
or  three  are  gathered  together  in  My  name,"  means  a  seance,  a 
spiritual  communication,  speaking  with  the  angels — opening  up 
the  avenues  between  the  two  worlds — the  mortal  and  the  im- 
mortal. Every  family  in  the  universe,  if  they  only  knew  it,  have 
a  medium  in  their  own  homes.  "  For  I  will  give  you  a  mouth 
and  wisdom  which  all  your  adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to  gain- 
say nor  resist."  St.  Luke  XXI,  15.  When  you  begin  to  investi- 
gate this,  you  will  find  that  God  intended  that  every  man  and 
woman  should  be  a  temple  in  their  own  homes.  "  Know  ye  not 
that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
in  you?"  I  Corinthians  III,  17.  Take  an  hour  every  day,  only 
one  hour  out  of  twenty-four,  and  let  your  soul  speak  with  God 
and  the  angels,  your  loved  ones,  offering  up  a  prayer  for  the 
"  Holiest  of  the  Holy  "  to  come  to  you.  "  And  all  things  what- 
soever ye  ask  in  prayer,  believing,  ye  shall  receive."  St.  Matthew 
XXI,  22.  Praying  from  the  soul,  not  from  the  lips ;  praying  for 
strength  to  do  your  duty,  in  whatever  vocation  or  position  you 


43a  Book  of  Knowledge. 

may  be,  asking  for  power  to  be  sent  you  to  make  you  better,  and 
to  bring  you  and  your  loved  ones  health  and  happiness ;  asking 
to  take  the  selfishness  out  of  you ;  giving  power  to  help  those  in 
need ;  by  doing  so  you  will  lessen  your  body  and  enlarge  your  soul. 
You  know  there  comes  a  time  in  every  man  and  woman's  life, 
when  they  will  sum  up  the  past  and  see  what  good  they  have 
done,  and  if  they  are  leaving  the  world  better  because  they  lived 
in  it.  If  you  do  this,  then  you  will  realize  the  power  of  God. 
"  For  if  a  man  thinks  himself  to  be  something  when  he  is  noth- 
ing, he  deceiveth  himself."  Galatians  VI,  3.  "  But  let  every  man 
prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall  he  have  rejoicing  in  himself 
alone,  and  not  in  another."  Galatians  VI,  4.  "  For  every  man 
shall  bear  his  own  burden."    Galatians  VI,  5. 

Go  into  your  closet  and  meet  with  your  family  for  an  hour 
in  this  spirit,  for  one,  two,  or  three  months,  and  it  would  not  be 
long  before  you  would  know  of  this  life  and  the  life  hereafter. 
In  asking  the  angels  to  come  into  our  homes,  it  is  best  always 
to  keep  in  mind  that  the  purer  and  better  you  keep  your  thoughts, 
bodies  and  homes,  the  more  pleased  the  "  God  Power  "  and  your 
loved  ones  will  be  to  come  to  you.  How  much  more  in  this  life 
we  enjoy  being  invited  to  a  friend's  home,  if  we  find  it  in  readi- 
ness, showing  that  they  appreciated  our  coming.  How  much 
more  particular  we  should  be  when  we  ask  the  Holy  Power  and 
our  angel  loved  ones  to  descend  from  their  pure  homes  to  come 
to  us.  We  would  feel,  I  know,  that  not  only  our  homes  and  bodies 
should  be  clean,  but  our  souls  also.  Now  in  making  preparation 
for  our  loved  ones,  the  room  you  would  invite  them  into  should 
be  kept  in  total  darkness.  "  What  I  tell  you  in  darkness,  that 
speak  ye  in  light;  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear,  that  preach  ye 
upon  the  housetop."    St.  Matthew  X,  27. 

Now  comes  the  inquiry,  why  do  you  have  to  sit  in  the  dark? 
Because  everything  in  nature  is  developed  in  the  dark,  before  it 
is  permitted  by  the  God  Power  to  come  into  light.  The  coal,  all 
minerals,  gold  and  silver,  all  vegetation,  our  trees  that  bear  such 
luscious  fruit  are  in  the  earth  to  develop.  There  is  nothing  in 
nature  but  must  be  in  darkness  a  certain  length  of  time  before  it 
comes  into  light.  We  ourselves  are  in  darkness  nine  months  be- 
fore we  are  permitted  to  see  the  light.    Then  why  should  it  be 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  423 

questioned  when  we  are  asked  by  the  angels  to  darken  a  room,  so 
they  can  come  and  develop  our  spiritual  gifts? 

"  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to  every  man, 
to  profit  withal."  i  Cor.  12,  7.  "  For  to  one  is  given  the  word 
of  wisdom;  to  another  the  word  of  knowledge,  by  the  same 
Spirit."  I  Cor.  XII,  8.  "  To  another  faith  by  the  same  Spirit, 
to  another  the  gift  of  healing  by  the  same  Spirit."  i  Cor.  XII,  9. 
"  To  another  the  working  of  miracles ;  to  another  prophecy ;  to 
another  discerning  of  Spirits ;  to  another  divers  kinds  of  tongues ; 
to  another  the  interpretation  of  tongues."  i  Cor.  XII,  10.  So, 
dear  reader,  if  you  will  read  the  New  Testament  understanding^, 
you  will  find  Christ's  teachings  all  spiritual  laws.  "  The  same 
came  to  Jesus  by  night  and  said  unto  Him,  *  Rabbi,  we  know  that 
thou  art  a  teacher  from  God,  for  no  man  can  do  these  miracles 
that  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  him.' "    St.  John  III,  2. 

So  many  people  whom  I  have  associated  with  in  my  work  of 
healing  the  sick  have  ridiculed  our  methods;  that  is,  not  they, 
but  their  friends  have  criticized  it  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
patient  would  be  ready  to  discontinue  treatment.  Had  the  friends 
read  their  Bibles  right,  they  would  have  found  that  was  one  of 
the  principal  laws  laid  down  by  Christ.  All  the  ridicule  and  all 
disagreeable  things  only  drew  me  that  much  closer  to  the  beloved 
God  Power.  "  Ye  shall  be  hated  by  all  men  for  my  name's  sake." 
St.  Luke  XXI,  17.  ''  But  there  shall  not  a  hair  of  your  head 
perish."    St.  Luke  XXI,  18. 

But  when  you  come  into  the  light,  the  spiritual  laws,  and  hear 
the  divine  messages  from  your  loved  ones  who  have  passed  on 
to  the  higher  life;  when  your  eyes  shall  receive  the  power  to 
discern  your  loved  ones ;  when  your  ears  shall  be  opened  to  hear 
their  dear  voices,  then  you  will  realize  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
has  indeed  come.  "  But  blessed  are  your  eyes  for  they  see :  and 
your  ears  for  they  hear."     St.  Matthew 'XIII,  16. 

Hold  sacred  all  signs  from  the  higher  life,  whether  it  comes 
in  a  tiny  rap  or  vision.  It  all  comes  from  the  living  God.  "  For 
we  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth  but  for  the  truth."  2  Cor. 
XIII,  8.  So,  dear  readers,  if  your  relatives  or  friends  ridicule 
you  for  opening  up  new  avenues  to  the  higher  life,  remember, 
"  A  prophet  is  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country  and  in 


424  Book  of  Knowledge. 

his  own  house."  St.  Matthew  XIII,  57.  Dear  friends,  I  have 
passed  through  all  the  scorn  and  ridicule ;  I  have  been  in  the  fiery 
furnace  ("Every  man's  work  shall  be  made  manifest;  for  the 
day  shall  declare  it,  because  it  shall  be  revealed  by  fire;  and  the 
fire  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  what  sort  it  is."  i  Cor.  Ill, 
13.)  but  to-day  I  thank  God  and  my  holy  loved  ones  in  the  life 
beyond  that  I  was  selected  as  one  of  the  disciples  to  heal  the  sick 
and  preach  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  if  any  of  you  are  chosen 
to  do  God's  bidding,  do  it  to  the  best  of  your  ability,  and  the 
angels  will  walk  by  your  side.  I  know  it  is  ignorance  that  makes 
any  one  doubt  the  God  Power,  but  look  at  nature  and  we  all 
must  admit  that  there  is  a  Master  that  leadeth  us  all,  and  we 
cannot  ignore  it. 

Consider  the  lilies  how  they  grow:  they  toil  not,  they  spin  not; 
and  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  Solomon  in  all  his  glory,  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these,    St.  Luke  XII,  27. 


A  NEW  BIRTH.  '  :;'  ^ 

Except  a  man  be  born  again,    John  III,  3. 

Of  course  we  can  be  born  again  and  there  is  no  mystery 
about  it.  Christ  did  not  use  any  figure  of  speech  but  stated  a 
literal  fact.  A  man  is  not  responsible  for  his  first  birth,  but  his 
second  birth  is  under  his  personal  control,  and  during  the  process 
he  can  make  himself  what  he  most  desires  to  be. 

We  are,  when  we  come  into  the  world,  a  good  deal  like  a 
section  of  aboriginal  forest.  There  are  noble  and  stately  trees 
but  they  are  smothered  in  underbrush  which  keeps  the  sun  from 
their  roots  and  steals  their  nourishment.  This  underbrush  must 
all  be  cut  away,  for  it  is  a  positive  injury  and  disfigurement,  and 
some  of  the  trees  which  interfere  with  the  general  growth  must 
be  relentlessly  felled.  If  the  owner  wants  the  best  possible  timber 
he  will  use  the  knife  and  the  axe  very  freely,  for  nature  has  a 
weak  side  and  is  apt  to  produce  more  than  is  necessary,  and  some 
things  that  are  not  needed  at  all. 

After  his  first  birth,  a  man  resembles  that  forest  in  its  original 
state.     He  is  conscious  of  underbrush,  qualities  of  character, 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  425 

which  choke  his  higher  ambitions.  There  is  too  much  of  him, 
and  he  therefore,  needs  to  get  rid  of  some  things  in  order  that 
other  things  may  have  a  chance  to  grow.  There  are  tendencies, 
impulses,  passions,  envyings,  which  require  a  sharp  knife,  or, 
better  still,  to  be  wholly  uprooted. 

In  a  word  a  man  ought  to  be  able  to  look  at  himself  critically, 
find  out  what  he  has  to  do  in  this  short  life  and  what  tools  he 
has  to  work  with  in  order  to  accomplish  that  work.  That  he 
can  throw  a  good  part  of  himself  away  as  worthless — the  more 
the  better  sometimes — and  he  can  apply  a  stimulant  to  his  finer 
qualities  and  so  change  that  he  will  hardly  know  himself.  He 
will  alter  the  whole  complexion  of  his  nature  and  become  as 
different  from  his  former  self  as  though  he  had  returned  to  his 
mother's  womb  and  been  born  again  under  more  favoring  cir- 
cumstances. 

When  Christ  announced  the  need  of  a  second  birth,  to  be 
accomplished  in  partnership  with  God,  He  gave  us  a  hint  of  the 
grandeur  of  human  nature.  Under  the  inspiration  of  that  com- 
mand to  achieve  a  new  birth.  He  announced  our  ability  to  make 
ourselves  little  lower  than  the  angels.  It  was  as  though  he  had 
said,  "  Fashion  the  highest  possible  ideal,  an  ideal  which  is  *  per- 
fect even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect,' "  then 
prune,  cut,  trim,  tear  up  whatever  elements  of  character  impede 
your  progress  toward  that  ideal.  The  Father  and  all  the  angels, 
your  loved  ones  in  the  higher  life,  will  assist  you  in  the  task.  By 
perseverance  you  shall  outgrow  your  old  self  and  at  last  become 
all  you  ever  dreamed  of  being  and  more. 

There  is  no  conception  of  our  nature  nobler,  wider,  or  more 
encouraging  than  that  you  are  master  of  your  fate.  You  control 
your  destiny.  No  king  ever  ruled  his  realm  with  a  sway  as  un- 
disputed as  you  can  rule  yourself.  You  may  not  control  outward 
circumstances,  but  you  can  bend  them  to  the  development  of  char- 
acter. See  things  in  the  right  light  and  your  life  will  be  glad- 
dened. It  is  your  mind  that  makes  you  small  or  large.  It  is 
your  mind,  your  soul,  that  conquers  even  the  body.  If  you  are 
petulant  or  ill-tempered  the  physical  lines  in  your  face  will  show  it. 
A  dissipated  life  shows  in  the  eyes  and  in  the  general  expression. 
In  the  last  analysis,  holiness  and  beauty  are  cause  and  effect.    A 


426  Book  of  Knowledge. 

sweet  life,  a  kindly  and  charitable  life,  is  just  like  a  sculptor  at 
work  on  a  block  of  marble.  It  chisels  the  muscles,  the  furrows, 
into  such  a  shape  that  all  the  world  can  look  into  your  face  and 
get  a  glimpse  of  the  character  behind  it. 

Here  is  a  whole  domain  of  natural  law  as  yet  unexplored. 
Get  your  heart  in  the  right  place,  open  the  door  wide,  not  to  let 
in  the  devils  of  impatience  and  worry  across  the  threshold,  but 
the  angels  of  peace  and  repose,  and  faith,  and  you  will  find  that 
you  are  going  from  one  new  birth  to  another;  that  the  sad  prob- 
lems of  affliction  are  slowly  solving  themselves;  that  your  years 
and  your  experiences  are  lifting  you  into  a  higher  and  healthier 
atmosphere,  and  that  God  is  a  real,  a  friendly,  an  intimate  and 
an  omnipotent  factor  in  your  life. 

I  say,  therefore,  be  brave.  You  shall  not  be  overcome  but 
you  shall  be  victor.  With  the  treasury  of  the  Government  to 
draw  upon,  you  can  never  be  poor,  and  with  the  love  and  power 
of  God  within  reach,  you  shall  smile  amid  tears  and  see  heaven 
when  you  stand  on  a  grave.  Take  yourself  in  hand  boldly.  You 
know  your  weaknesses.  Go  into  the  forest  with  an  axe  and  knife. 
Clear  out  the  underbrush  of  unworthy  motive.  It  can  be  done 
for  you  and  God  and  the  angel  loved  ones  can  do  anything. 

You  shall  be  a  new  man  with  a  new  earth  under  your  feet 
and  a  new  heaven  overhead.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  capacity 
of  your  nature  to  enlarge  and  ennoble  itself. 

"  When  He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come.  He  will  guide  you 
into  all  truth :  for  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself :  but  whatsoever 
He  shall  hear  that  shall  He  speak :  and  He  will  show  you  things 
to  come."    St.  John  XVI,  13. 

TRIBULATIONS. 

And  He  said  unto  them,  "  What  manner  of  communications 
are  these  that  ye  have  one  to  another,  as  ye  walk  and  are  sad?  " 
St  Luke  XXIV,  17. 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  question  in  connection  with  the  spir- 
itual life  is  this:  Why  are  there  so  many  troubles  and  sorrows 
on  the  road  to  heaven?    No  thoughtful  soul  ever  bowed  under 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  427 

an  affliction  without  wondering  why  the  Lord  thought  it  best  to 
make  suffering  so  large  a  part  of  our  experience.  He  could  have 
arranged  matters  very  differently  if  He  had  wished  to  do  so, 
but  He  chose  to  have  them  as  they  are.  There  must  therefore  be 
a  very  important  significance  in  our  burden  bearing,  but  what  is 
it?  We  may  be  perfectly  resigned  to  His  will,  and  may  believe 
without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  wrenching  griefs  and  heart 
struggles  are  all  right,  but  we  cannot  suppress  the  query,  "  Why 
are  they  all  right  ?  " 

To  the  mere  on-looker  from  another  planet  the  situation  would 
be  interesting  and  painful.  He  would  see  man  wrestling  with 
the  most  perverse  circumstances  and  apparently  conquered  by 
them,  and  women  weeping  over  sorrows  too  deep  for  sympathy 
to  reach.  To  him  this  would  be  the  oddest  of  all  worlds  admin- 
istered on  a  plan  he  might  find  it  difficult  to  understand.  But  it 
seems  to  me  possible  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  meaning  of  it  all,  to 
so  far  comprehend  it  that  we  are  able  to  say,  perhaps  in  feeble 
accents,  "  Thy  will,  not  mine,  be  done."  If  it  is  possible  to  do  that 
we  shall  be  greatly  comforted  and  our  power  of  endurance  will 
be  largely  increased. 

The  golden  key  to  the  mystery  is  found  in  the  apparently  cruel 
statement  made  in  the  Book  of  Revelations :  "  As  many  as  I  love 
I  rebuke  and  chasten."  God  is  our  Father,  and  if  you  are  a  parent 
you  will  readily  see  what  is  meant.  If  you  are  indifferent  to  the 
welfare  of  your  children,  caring  more  for  your  own  pleasure 
than  for  their  good,  you  will  allow  them  a  very  large  license,  let 
them  go  their  own  way,  even  though  it  be  the  wrong  way. 

But  if  you  have  the  true  parental  heart  and  wish  to  insure 
for  the  dear  ones  that  integrity  and  sturdiness  which  are  neces- 
sary to  a  noble  character  you  will  not  only  watch  over  them  with 
solicitude  during  the  formative  period,  but  you  will  rebuke  them, 
and  even  sternly  deny  them  certain  undesirable  gratifications. 
You  chasten  them  in  order  to  make  them  chaste  or  pure,  for  that 
is  the  meaning  of  the  word.  To  chasten  is  to  purify  by  disci- 
pline. If  it  be  true  that  to  be  pure  or  perfect  is  the  chief  end  to 
be  sought,  and  if  it  be  true  that  if  left  to  our  impulses  or  pas- 
sions we  should  never  become  pure,  but  by  discipline  we  may  be- 
come so,  then  God  would  either  cease  to  love  us  or  else  cease 


428  Book  of  Knowledge. 

to  be  good  unless  He  allotted  such  pains  and  griefs  as  would 
make  the  soul  stronger  by  its  endurance  of  them :  It  may  seem 
a  strange  thing  to  say,  but  it  is  true,  that  God  would  not  be  a 
father  if  He  failed  in  that  sharp  discipline  which  in  this  life  causes 
regret,  but  will  sometime  prove  itself  to  have  been  a  blessing 
in  disguise. 

I  suppose  that  a  bar  of  gold  which  is  placed  in  the  smelting 
pot  may  be  very  unhappy  for  a  time.  It  does  not  know  very 
much  about  the  worthless  and  debasing  alloy  which  is  mingled 
with  its  very  substance,  and  it  therefore  cries  out  against  the 
cruelty  of  the  fire  which  heats  it  to  the  melting  point.  But  the 
goldsmith  loves  his  gold  too  much  to  heed  its  cries.  The  fire  is 
the  chastening  element,  and  he  plies  the  bellows  with  a  rugged 
strength.  But  when  the  end  comes  and  the  pure  metal  has  been 
separated  from  the  alloy,  will  it  not  be  seen  that  a  hot  fire,  a  con- 
suming flame,  is  proof  of  the  goldsmith's  skill  and  wisdom  and 
love  ? 

If  the  ingot  of  gold,  not  quite  understanding  the  process  of 
purification,  could  have  had  perfect  faith  in  the  goldsmith,  it 
would  have  suffered  less  during  the  ordeal  of  fire. 

In  like  manner,  if  we  could  believe  that  our  sufferings  have  a 
grand  mission  to  achieve,  that  they  are  under  the  guiding  hand 
of  the  Master  of  our  souls,  it  would  largely  alter  our  attitude 
toward  them  and  also  toward  Him  who  has  ordained  them.  To 
weep  without  hope  or  trust  is  to  break  your  heart.  Even  though 
you  cannot  see  the  meaning  of  a  grief,  if  you  believe  there  is 
one  and  that  He  and  our  dear  ones  see  it,  you  can  summon  your 
best  strength  and  you  can  be  brave.  But  what  of  that  man  who 
neither  sees  any  light  in  the  darkness  nor  believes  that  there  is 
any? 

A  tempest  with  home  in  sight  is  one  thing;  a  tempest  with 
no  resting  place  to  look  forward  to — could  any  fate  be  harder 
than  that,  or  any  condition  more  pitiful? 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  our  religion  this  one  thing  at 
least  is  true — that  it  gives  good  cheer  when  good  cheer  is  needed. 
"  Not  my  will,  but  thine,  be  done."  He  went  from  under  the 
overhanging  clouds  to  the  better  land,  and  if  we  will  only  open 
up  our  souls  to  God  and  our  angel  loved  ones,  we  may  be  able 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  429 

to  hear  Him  say,  ''  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled.    I  go  to  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you."    St.  John  XIV,  2. 


THE   MAN   WITHIN. 
Thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee.     St.  Luke  XII,  20. 

It  is  the  man  within  the  man  who  excites  our  wonder.  He 
is  there,  but  you  cannot  see  him.  He  is  not  discovered  by  the 
scalpel  of  the  surgeon,  who  lays  bare  every  hiding-place  in  the 
body,  but  still  he  is  there.  I  have  loved  my  friend  these  many 
years,  have  walked  by  his  side  summer  and  winter,  have  wept 
and  laughed  with  him,  but  I  shall  never  see  him  until  he  and  I 
move  out  of  our  bodies,  and  spirit  looks  into  the  face  of  spirit. 
This  inner  man  may  be  closely  related  to  the  body,  but  the  two 
are  not  the  same.  They  are  at  once  independent  and  inter- 
dependent. I  have  noticed  that  when  the  outer  man  is  out  of 
order  the  inner  man  is  hampered  in  consequence — when  the 
strings  of  a  violin  are  not  properly  tuned,  the  player  produces 
only  discord.  The  player  and  the  violin  are  dependent  on 
each  other,  and  neither  can  make  music  without  the  other,  but 
the  player  and  the  violin  are  not  one  and  the  same. 

When  the  man  within  the  man  is  displeased  or  angered,  the 
blood  of  the  body  rushes  to  the  face  or  retreats  from  the  face. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  the  lips  to  tell  me  what  is  happening  in 
the  inner  depths  where  feeling  resides,  for  it  is  all  seen  in  the 
countenance,  just  as  the  landscape  is  painted  on  the  canvas  by 
the  artist.  But  the  canvas  and  the  artist  are  not  one  and  the 
same.  That  mysterious  something  which  we  call  "  expres- 
sion "  is  simply  an  outward  advertisement  of  the  internal  emo- 
tion; it  is  the  spirit  shining  through  the  body,  as  a  light  inside 
the  lantern  shines  through  a  red  glass ;  but  the  face  that  wears 
the  expression  and  the  soul  that  makes  it  are  not  one  and  the 
same.  This  action  of  the  body  and  soul  on  each  other  has 
led  some  to  the  conclusion  that  they  can  never  part  company, 
but  at  death  suffer  the  same  fate.  I  cannot  see,  however,  why 
it  is  impossible  for  a  man  who  lives  in  a  house  until  it  is  so  old 
that  it  crumbles,  to  walk  out  of  it  when  the  time  is  ripe,  with 


430  Book  of  Knowledge. 

all  his  belongings,  and  enter  and  occupy  another  house.  He 
or  she  may  love  the  home  which  they  enjoyed  and  in  which  they 
suffered,  and  it  may,  indeed,  seem  to  be  a  part  of  himself.  His 
life  under  its  roof  is  crowned  with  so  many  associations  that  he 
weeps  at  the  thought  of  leaving  it,  and  feels  that  he  may  never 
find  another  abode  as  congenial  and  convenient,  but  when  the 
necessity  arises,  he  can  step  across  the  threshold  and  go  where 
destiny  leads. 

Now  this  soul — ^what  is  it  ?  I  wonder  if  I  shall  be  misunder- 
stood if  I  say  that  it  is  a  detached  portion  of  Him  whom  I  wor- 
ship as  God  the  Creator,  that  for  some  cause  it  is  a  long  dis- 
tance from  Him,  and  that  through  the  struggles  of  life  it  is 
slowly  making  its  way  back,  with  the  hope  of  finding  itself  at 
home  with  Him  and  our  dear  angel  friends  in  heaven  at  last? 
God  made  me,  therefore  His  thought.  His  power  and  His  love 
express  themselves  in  my  whole  being.  What  I  call  my  re- 
ligion is  nothing  more  than  His  revelation  of  the  way  in  which 
I  can  approach  Him  more  closely,  and  maintain  more  intimate 
relations  with  Him  and  the  dear  loved  ones  who  have  gone  to 
their  eternal  home. 

"  But  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world."    St.  John  XV,  19. 


WE   SHALL   LIVE   AGAIN. 

'And  there  shall  be  no  night  there.    Revelations  XXII,  5. 

There  is  not  a  whole  household  on  the  face  of  the  earth! 
Not  one  in  which  there  is  no  grief  for  the  departed!  The  air 
is  full  of  joyful  greetings  for  those  who  have  just  come,  and  of 
sad  farewells  for  those  who  are  just  going.  We  know  by  ex- 
perience what  awaits  the  newcomers  into  this  short  and  beauti- 
ful life,  but  what  have  we  to  say  of  those  who  have  whispered 
their  "good  night,"  and  are  about  to  fall  asleep?  Are  we  left 
in  the  dark  concerning  them,  and  must  we  weep  until  forget- 
fulness  dries  our  tears,  or  can  we  look  serenely  into  the  future 
and  think  of  them  as  in  some  foreign  clime,  where  they  are  so- 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  431 

journing    at    their    larger    opportunities    and    awaiting    our 
coming? 

This  is  the  great  problem,  and  until  it  is  solved  to  the  soul's 
satisfaction,  we  really  have  no  God  to  worship,  for  a  God  who 
has  made  love  the  mightiest  element  of  our  nature,  but  breaks 
our  relationship  to  others  at  death,  as  a  giant  snaps  a  thread, 
is  a  being  to  be  feared  but  not  one  in  whom  to  repose  a  cheer- 
ful confidence;  and  unless  our  religion  has  as  much  to  say 
about  the  future  as  about  the  present,  it  neither  fits  our  needs 
nor  responds  to  our  cravings.  It  is  weakest  where  it  should 
be  strongest,  and  it  suffers  defeat  where  it  should  win  the  vic- 
tory. Unless  you  can  tell  me  something  about  to-morrow, 
I  do  not  care  to  ask  any  questions  about  to-day.  If  the  journey 
ends  at  sunset,  it  makes  very  little  difference  to  me  where  I 
wander  or  what  happens  to  me.  The  time  is  too  short  for  the 
accomplishment  of  any  high  purpose,  for  while  I  am  engaged 
in  my  work,  and  just  as  I  get  accustomed  to  myself  and  learn 
to  use  myself  to  the  best  advantage,  I  drop  out  of  sight 
{Whereas  ye  knoiv  not  what  shall  he  on  the  morrow.  For 
what  is  your  life?  It  is  even  a  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a 
little  time  and  then  vanisheth  away.  James  IV,  14),  leaving 
nothing  behind  except  the  memory  of  an  unfinished  task,  and 
become  a  mere  nothing  in  the  midst  of  nowhere.  My  moral 
sense  is  destroyed,  and  instead  of  that  self-sacrifice  for  the 
good  of  others,  which  is  at  once  the  most  heroic  and  admirable 
quality  of  my  nature,  I  eat,  and  drink,  and  am  merry  because 
to-morrow  I  shall  die.  How  can  I  care  for  a  God  who  cares  so 
little  for  me  that  He  makes  me  thirsty,  leads  me  to  the  fountain 
and  then  refuses  to  let  me  drink  ?  I  may  be  convinced  of  His 
power,  but  I  am  suspicious  of  His  wisdom,  and  I  stoutly  deny 
His  goodness.  An  earthly  father  who  should  act  thus  toward 
his  family  would  neither  receive  nor  deserve  the  affection  of 
his  children.  The  denial  of  immortality,  therefore,  by  those 
who  are  constituted  as  we  are,  and  who  are  as  dependent  as 
we  on  that  affection  which  develops  all  that  is  highest  and 
noblest  in  our  natures,  is  a  preposterous  libel  against  Him  who 
taught  us  the  Lord's  prayer.  It  chills  every  warm  motive  that 
leads  to  holiness,  and  so  dwarfs  the  soul  that  it  becomes  hardly 


433  Book  of  Knowledge. 

visible.  No  man  can  attain  his  full  stature  except  under  the 
influence  of  a  faith  which  once  in  a  while  catches  a  glimpse  ofc 
heaven,  any  more  than  a  rosebush  will  blossom  in  the  damp 
darkness  of  a  cellar.  Men  and  plants  need  light — the  plant  the 
light  of  the  sun,  and  man  the  light  of  immortahty. 

But  once  convince  a  man  that,  as  he  has  fallen  asleep  so 
often  in  this  life  that  he  looks  forward  to  it  after  the  hard  day's 
work,  sure  that  he  will  wake  again  at  sunrise  refreshed  and 
ready  for  additional  toil,  so  will  he  close  his  eyes  at  last  only 
to  open  them  in  a  brighter  world,  and  you  will  make  a  new 
creature  of  him.  He  is  transformed  and  transfigured.  The 
whole  current  of  his  thoughts  is  changed;  his  incentives  lead 
him  to  a  higher  level  of  action ;  he  is  no  longer  like  the  musi- 
cian who  plays  out  of  tune,  for  he  keys  his  instrument  to  the 
concert  pitch  which  the  leader  gives,  and  produces  the  best 
music  of  which  he  and  his  instrument  are  capable. 

Our  lives  are  based  on  thoughts,  and  the  loftiest  thoughts 
make  the  holiest  lives.  There  is  no  conception  which  equals 
that  of  immortality  in  its  benign,  invigorating  and  inspiring  in- 
fluence on  the  character  of  a  man.  It  concentrates  all  his 
energies  and  sanctifies  all  his  affections.  It  brings  him  into 
harmony  with  the  universe  and  gives  him  the  right  to  call  on 
God  in  time  of  need.  He  lives  for  eternity ;  makes  plans  which 
reach  far  beyond  the  confines  of  our  earthly  life;  bears  with 
resignation  the  burdens  which  Providence  places  on  his 
shoulders,  and  tearfully  says  "  Good-night,"  with  the  glad  cer- 
tainty of  saying  "  Good-morning  "  later  on. 

But  whither  do  they  go  who  are  summoned  hence  ?  Do  the 
bonds'  by  which  they  and  we  are  united  in  life  break  at  death  ? 
Does  memory  die  when  the  body  is  worn  out?  Is  memory  a 
physical  function,  or  does  it  belong  to  the  soul  to  live  as  long 
as  the  soul  lives  ?  Will  they  be  so  enraptured  by  the  glories  of 
the  future  that  their  interest  in  us  will  cease?  This  cannot  be 
true.  Neither  reason  nor  revelation  gives  utterance  to  such 
a  preposterous  statement.  True  love,  the  love  that  has  grown 
sweeter  and  more  tender  with  the  passing  years,  the  love  on 
which  two  souls  have  leaned  for  support  and  comfort  in  the 
various  vicissitudes  of  this  lower  world,  is  as  much  stronger 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  433 

than  death  as  a  giant  is  stronger  than  a  child.  The  change 
from  one  life  to  another  can  produce  no  change  in  love,  except, 
indeed,  to  make  it  purer  than  ever.  Love  will  not,  cannot  die. 
And  they  who  go,  go  not  so  far  but  they  can  return.  It  is  not 
a  long  journey  from  here  to  heaven.  In  Jacob's  time  it  was 
only  a  ladder's  length,  and  it  is  the  same  now.  Our  loved  ones 
are  close  to  us,  bringing  help  and  good  cheer.  The  angels 
ministered  to  Christ,  and  the  law  has  not  been  repealed.  They 
minister  also  to  us,  and  when  we  die  our  opening  eyes  will  see 
familiar  faces,  and  in  our  weariness  we  shall  find  rest  in  the 
embrace  of  those  who  have  gone  before.  "  And  whither  I  go  ye 
know,  and  the  way  ye  know."    St.  John  XIV,  4. 


THE  SOUL. 

For  what  is  a  man  profited,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world, 
and  lose  his  own  soul?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul?       St.  Matthew  XVI,  26. 

It  is  a  sound  principle  which  leads  us  to  take  a  jealous  care 
of  that  which  is  worth  the  most,  and  allow  unimportant  matters 
to  take  care  of  themselves.  If  a  man  were  presented  with  a 
jewel  and  a  penny  he  would  hardly  set  a  guard  over  the  penny 
and  leave  the  jewel  within  reach  of  robbers.  And  if  we  dis- 
covered that  he  did  so,  under  the  conviction  that  the  penny 
was  worth  more  than  the  jewel,  we  might  be  excused  if  we 
regarded  him  as  a  man  of  unbalanced  mind,  suffering  from 
some  curious  hallucination. 

Since  we  have  souls,  and  since  these  souls  are  to  survive 
that  odd  incident  in  our  career  which  we  call  death,  then  it  must 
needs  follow,  as  logically  as  the  night  follows  the  day,  that  the 
soul's  health  and  well-being  should  be  the  chief  end  of  our 
actions.  Other  things  may  be  valuable  and  quite  worth  work- 
ing for,  but  when  these  other  things  block  the  way  to  the  soul's 
progress,  we  cannot  reasonably  hesitate  as  to  which  should  be 
sacrificed.  It  is  only  the  child  who  wants  what  we  know  will 
injure  him,  and  we  excuse  him  on  the  ground  that  he  is  un- 
developed, has  not  yet  grasped  the  true  philosophy  of  life.   We 


434  Book  of  Knowledge. 

feel  sure  that  when  his  mind  is  broadened  by  experience  he  will 
put  aside  childish  things  and  take  the  view  of  a  full-grown 
man. 

Now  religion  is  nothing  more  than  the  result  of  a  large  out- 
look. Its  requirements  are  based  on  the  fact  that  you  are  to 
step  out  of  this  world  into  some  other  world,  and  for  that 
reason  you  ought  not  to  do  in  this  world  what  will  interfere 
with  your  happiness  in  that  other  world.  The  basis  of  religion, 
therefore,  is  both  philosophic  and  scientific.  Its  commands 
are  not  arbitrary,  but  draw  their  authority  from  the  eternal 
order  of  things.  It  is  the  religion  of  a  watch  to  keep  correct 
time,  because  that  is  the  purpose  for  which  is  was  made;  and 
it  is  the  religion  of  the  soul  to  be  honest,  faithful  and  true, 
because  these  are  the  ends  which  God  had  in  view  when  He 
made  it,  and  because  those  ends  can  be  achieved  by  obedience 
to  constituted  law,  and  in  no  other  possible  way.  But  our 
difficulty  is  that,  like  the  man  who  prizes  the  penny  more  than 
the  jewel,  we  are  very  largely  under  a  hallucination.  We  think 
some  things  valuable  which  are  worthless,  and  we  fail  to  esti- 
mate other  things  at  their  proper  worth,  though,  in  fact,  they 
are  priceless.  We  are  under  a  spell;  we  are  glamoured,  and 
the  object  of  true  religion  is  to  set  us  right  in  our  judgment, 
and  thus  influence  our  lives  for  our  own  benefit.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  Father  had  just  that  in  His  eternal  mind  when  He 
sent  Jesus  to  tell  us  what  road  to  take  in  order  to  get  to 
heaven. 

For  example,  how  marvellously  we  over-estimate  the  value 
of  money.  It  is  the  panacea  of  all  our  ills,  and  we  not  only 
sacrifice  our  bodily  comfort  for  it,  but  shorten  our  lives  and 
open  the  door  to  various  ills.  I  have  nothing  to  say  against 
a  just  appreciation  of  money,  for  I  know  that  it  can  contribute 
to  human  happiness.  I  am  not  sorry  when  a  young  man  or  a 
young  woman  is  fired  with  ambition,  dreaming  grand  dreams 
and  toiling  to  realize  them.  But  when  I  see  them  worship  a 
pocketbook  as  though  it  were  the  god  of  all  the  worlds,  for- 
getting the  pleasures  of  life  in  this  one  pursuit,  acquiring 
habits  which  unfit  them  for  any  enjoyments  except  what  is 
found  in  adding  dollars  to  dollars,  I  am  sure  that  they  do  not 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  435 

look  at  life  from  Christ's  standpoint,  and  that  they  are  paying 
too  large  a  price  for  what  yields  them  an  inadequate  return. 
And  when,  again,  I  see  that  a  man's  eagerness  to  acquire 
wealth  has  dethroned  his  moral  principle;  that  he  is  exchang- 
ing character  for  "  thirty  pieces  of  silver  " ;  that  he  is  betray- 
ing his  own  manhood;  that  he  can  no  longer  respect  himself, 
and  has  only  a  bank  account  in  place  of  a  conscience,  I  know 
that  that  man  has  a  false  standard  of  values  and  is  the  victim  of 
a  false  view  of  life.  Or,  once  more,  when  I  see  a  man  sur- 
render himself  to  the  physical  stimulus  of  pleasures  under  the 
impression  that  the  law  which  demands  its  price  for  over- 
indulgence can  be  evaded,  drowning  his  moral  sense  in  excite- 
ment, ignoring  the  soul  and  depending  on  his  body  for  all  that 
life  has  to  offer,  I  know  that  the  time  must  come  when  regrets, 
like  hornets,  will  sting  him.  He  is  out  of  tune  with  the  uni- 
verse. He  might  as  well  try  to  play  a  concerto  on  a  violin  witK 
loosened  strings.  His  estimate  of  comparative  values  is  all 
wrong.  He  is  worshiping  the  penny  and  throwing  the  jewel 
away.  He  seeks  for  happiness,  but  seeks  it  where  it  is  not  to 
be  found.  He  cheats  himself  out  of  his  own  fortune.  The 
only  lasting  satisfaction  is  in  being  an  honest  and  a  true  man. 
You  will  never  work  on  the  highest  level  until  your  circum- 
ference includes  another  world  as  well  as  this  one,  and  you 
will  never  know  the  full  meaning  of  the  present  life  until  the 
other  life  gives  it  its  holiest  interpretation. 

It  is  not  your  money  but  your  manhood  and  womanhood 
which  fixes  your  value.  True  religion,  the  religion  which 
Christ  taught,  is  broad  and  generous.  It  tells  you  that  the 
soul  is  the  jewel  and  the  body  is  the  penny,  and  that  if  you 
live  in  accordance  with  that  fact  you  are  a  Christian  worthy  of 
immortality. 

"  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  Hsteth,  and  thou  hearest  the 
sound  thereof  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh  and  whither 
it  goeth:  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  spirit."  St.  John 
III,  8. 

"Be  not  deceived:  God  is  not  mocked:  for  whatsoever  a 
man  soweth,  that  shall  he  reap."     Galatians  VI,  7. 


436  Book  of  Knowledge. 

LOVE. 
Love,  therefore,  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law.    Romans  XIII,  10. 

The  only  creed  which  will  stand  the  test  of  time  has  for  its 
beginning  and  end  the  command  to  do  well  by  yourself  by 
doing  good  to  others.  The  man  who  seeks  to  absorb  every- 
thing for  his  own  comfort  and  convenience  bases  his  life  on  a 
wrong  principle.  His  purpose  flies  wide  of  the  mark,  like  a 
bullet  which  never  touches  the  target.  There  is  a  subtle  some- 
thing in  unselfishness  which  brings  us  richer  gifts  than  greed 
ever  hoped  for.  Our  philosophy  that  teaches  us  how  to  get 
good  things  by  giving  good  things  is  the  profoundest  in  the 
world.  It  contradicts  our  preconceived  notions  but  vindicates 
itself  by  the  result  produced. 

The  essence  of  Christianity  is  not  to  be  found  in  its  dogmas, 
but  in  the  every-day  life  of  Christ.  It  does  not  help  you  to 
appreciate  music  to  know  how  many  vibrations  make  the  notes 
of  the  octave.  You  may  be  quite  ignorant  of  the  science  of 
music  and  yet  be  thrilled  by  it;  and  you  may  know  nothing 
about  the  science  of  our  religion  and  yet  be  spiritual  to  the 
heart's  core.  Place  yourself  in  a  position  to  understand 
Christ's  spiritual  laws,  and  you  have  all  that  is  needful  for  this 
life  and  the  life  to  come.  And  so  to  tell  it  all  in  one  breath, 
our  religion  teaches  us  love  ("  These  things  I  command  you, 
that  ye  love  one  another."  St.  John  XV,  17.),  that  kind  of  love 
which  pities  sin,  heals  the  wounded,  and  helps  bereavement  to 
wear  the  smile  of  hope.  If  you  look  into  the  life  of  Christ 
you  will  find  there  love  as  wide  as  the  firmament  and  as  deep 
as  the  sea;  love  as  exhaustless  as  the  river  which  flows  eter- 
nally into  the  ocean  but  never  wholly  spends  itself. 

I  beseech  you,  therefore,  to  love  along  the  line  of  the  per- 
pendicular until  you  reach  the  home  of  God,  and  to  love  along 
the  line  of  the  horizontal  until  you  touch  the  farthest  sorrow- 
ing soul  on  the  planet.  Then  you  will  have  all  that  is  needful 
— spiritual  riches  beyond  compare — a  heart  like  that  of  Christ, 
and  a  life  with  all  the  poetry  and  peace  of  heaven  in  it.  There 
is  too  much  of  self  in  the  world.     Our  hands  are  stretched  out 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  437 

to  take,  not  to  give.  We  plan  for  personal  gain,  are  forgetful 
of  the  wants  of  others,  build  a  moat  about  ourselves  and  keep 
the  drawbridge  up,  lest  some  one  may  cross  to  ask  for  help. 
All  that  is  like  poison  to  the  soul.  It  causes  us  to  wilt  like  a 
flower  that  is  not  fed  with  water.  We  become  like  a  field  of 
grain  after  a  long  drought,  for  the  very  life  is  parched,  and  but 
for  the  mercy  of  God  we  should  be  scarcely  worth  the  reaping. 
It  is  hard  to  look  over  the  world  and  feel  that  though  there  is 
plenty  and  to  spare,  some  are  starving;  that  though  there  are 
churches  at  every  corner,  vice  is  not  checked  by  love,  but 
simply  cast  into  prison;  that  though  we  have  the  New  Testa- 
ment for  our  guide  we  are  as  heedless  of  its  injunctions  as  if 
it  had  never  been  written.  Just  think,  after  eighteen  centuries 
we  are  not  yet  Christians,  and  if  Christ  our  Teacher  were  to  re- 
visit the  earth  in  the  body,  He  would  rebuke  us  as  He  did  the 
Pharisees  of  old.  He  might  even  use  so  strong  a  word  as 
"  hypocrites,"  for  do  we  not  openly  declare  that  all  men  are 
our  brothers,  while  in  private  we  get  from  them  what  we  can 
and  give  as  little  as  possible  ?  The  so-called  Christianity  is  not 
practical;  if  is  a  mere  theory,  a  pleasant  dream. 

The  whole  domain  in  which  character  is  formed  and  happi- 
ness is  found  by  the  duties  which  grow  out  of  love  for  man- 
kind is  still  unexplored.  No  day  should  pass  without  a  kind 
word  to  some  one,  nor  without  some  act  which  will  bring  good 
cheer.  There  are  men  who  can  be  turned  from  evil  by  a  hand- 
shake, and  women  who  can  be  saved  by  a  smile  of  encourage- 
ment. Here  is  your  duty,  and  when  your  duty  becomes  a 
pleasure,  then  you  are  close  to  your  ideal ;  that  is  true  religion, 
spiritual  law — Spiritualism — and  there  is  no  other  kind  that  is 
worth  a  second  thought. 

It  is  always  well  to  keep  in  mind  that  you  are  here,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  getting  all  you  can,  but  of  giving  whenever 
there  is  need  of  it.  When  we  get  into  the  other  world  we  shall 
know  that  a  good  deed  is  worth  more  than  anything  else ;  that 
kindly  words  are  like  the  handful  of  seed  which  the  farmer 
scatters  about  his  field  and  which  produces  a  large  harvest  in 
the  autumn.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  spend  all  your  time  in  this 
manner,  but  I  believe  you  should  not  avoid  the  opportunity 


438  Book  of  Knowledge. 

which  offers,  for  there  is  no  happiness  in  what  is  purely  selfish. 
It  is  a  hard  lesson  to  learn,  but  it  is  the  secret  of  spiritual 
success. 

No  man  can  sit  in  the  silence  and  rejoice  unless  the  echo  of 
a  good  deed  fills  his  ears.  What  you  greedily  save  you  will 
lose ;  what  you  freely  give  you  will  save. 

"  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  God  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself."  St.  John 
VII,  17. 

THE   GOLDEN   RULE. 

As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  also  to  them 
likewise.    St.  Luke  VI,  31. 

There  is  a  curious  bit  of  satire  in  calling  this  the  Golden 
Rule.  As  we  consider  gold  the  most  important  of  all  earthly 
possessions,  we  christen  this  rule  of  action  by  the  name  of 
what  we  most  desire.  But,  oddly  enough,  while  we  spend  our 
energies  and  lay  the  most  careful  plans  for  the  acquisition  of 
gold,  we  are  equally  shrewd  and  painstaking  to  find  ways  in 
which  to  avoid  following  the  rule.  The  two  things  are  equally 
necessary  to  human  happiness ;  so  we  think  and  so  we  declare, 
and  yet  we  take  delight  in  gathering  a  harvest  of  gold;  but,  as 
for  the  rule,  its  practice  is  a  great  hardship.  I  do  not  say  that 
the  Golden  Rule  is  obsolete,  for  the  word  implies  that  what 
was  once  common  has  fallen  into  disuse.  In  fact  there  is 
hardly  a  passage  of  Scripture  which  has  ever  been  put  to  as 
little  practical  use  as  this.  The  world  knows  almost  nothing 
of  the  Golden  Rule  as  an  experience.  It  is  one  of  our  ideals, 
a  theory  which  presents  many  aspects  of  attractive  beauty,  but 
so  far  as  its  realization  is  concerned,  we  have  no  personal 
knowledge  of  its  spiritual  value  and  results.  It  is  a  dream,  a 
vision,  but  nothing  more.  Nevertheless,  it  is  doubtless  true 
that  in  unselfishness  and  self-sacrifice  is  to  be  found  the  secret 
of  spiritual  development  and  happiness.  The  philosophy  of 
getting  has  been  carefully  studied,  but  the  philosophy  of  giving 
is  quite  unknown  to  us.  To  win  the  greatest  good  by  giving 
all  we  have  seems  so  nearly  impossible,  and  involves  so  much 
apparent  discomfort,  that  we  hesitate  to  try  the  experiment. 


Gleanings  from  Life  and  the  New  Testament.  439 

Can  you  conceive  what  this  world  would  be  if  we  were  to 
do  unto  others  what  we  would  like  them  to  do  unto  us  ?  I  con- 
fess that  my  imagination  staggers  at  the  effort.  It  would  seem 
as  though  a  thousand  magicians  had  been  set  at  work.  No 
selfishness?  Brotherly  love  everywhere?  Nothing  of  this 
wild  ambition  which  reaches  out  its  strong  hand  to  grasp  every- 
thing, but  a  universal  desire  to  extend  help  wherever  it  was 
needed?  The  only  rivalry  to  do  more  good  than  our  neigh- 
bors ?  No  wars,  no  international  conflicts,  no  swords,  but  only 
ploughshares?  What  a  world  that  would  be,  a  very  Christ 
world,  where  our  angel  loved  ones  could  come  at  any  time  and 
be  welcomed!  One  trembles  at  the  divine  condition  of  afifairs 
that  would  be  realized.  I  have  a  conviction  that  in  such  a 
world  all  men  and  women  would  be  physically  as  well  as 
morally  healthy;  that  we  should  not  die  of  disease  but  of  old 
age,  like  a  clock  which  keeps  perfect  time  until  the  last  tick, 
when  it  runs  down.  But  we  can  make  a  personal  application 
of  this  rule  and  be  thereby  transformed.  I  know  of  nothing 
that  is  more  beneficial  to  body  and  soul  than  doing  a  kind  act 
at  some  sacrifice  to  yourself.  Living  for  yourself  and  your 
own  comfort  only  is  a  mean  and  narrow  existence.  To  have 
plenty  and  to  ignore  the  fact  that  others  are  starving  is  a 
subtle  cruelty  to  your  better  nature.  To  love  your  neighbor 
with  such  a  love  as  will  compel  you  to  contribute  in  some  way 
to  his  welfare  is  to  have  a  soul  gladness  which  he  alone  appre- 
ciates who  possesses  it.  I  think  Christ  was  really  happier  on 
His  way  to  Calvary  than  many  a  rich  man  is  in  spending  his 
wealth  in  pleasure  and  dissipation. 

You  can  find  more  satisfaction  in  taking  some  trouble  to 
save  a  reckless  boy  or  girl  than  in  the  most  costly  self-indul- 
gence, and  if  we  would  devote  a  part  of  each  day  to  deeds  of 
this  kind  a  very  millennium  would  come  into  our  hearts  and 
homes.  There  are  undiscoverable  possibilities  in  the  Golden 
kule  which  are  waiting  to  reveal  themselves,  just  as  there  are 
stars  in  the  sky  which  are  anxious  to  be  discovered  by  the 
astronomer.  Then  let  us  all  in  the  future,  with  the  aid  of  God 
and  the  angels,  try  to  follow  the  "  Golden  Rule."  "  And  into 
whatsoever  house  ye  enter,  first  say,  peace  be  to  this  house." 
St.  Luke  X,  5. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 
OUR  YESTERDAYS  AND  OUR  TO-MORROWS. 
Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.    St.  Matthew  VI,  34. 

Here  is  a  bit  of  philosophy  too  profound  to  be  appreciated 
without  careful  and  continuous  study.  It  also  contains  a  stern 
injunction  not  to  worry  over  what  cannot  be  helped,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  make  the  best  of  circumstances.  You  are 
commanded  to  let  the  past  go  its  way  into  the  land  of  forget- 
fulness,  and  not  to  borrow  from  the  future  the  trouble  which 
you  fear  it  may  contain,  but  to  live  in  the  present  as  far  as 
possible.  It  is  a  command  very  difficult  to  obey,  and  yet  obedi- 
ence is  absolutely  necessary  if  you  would  get  out  of  life  all 
that  God  has  put  into  it. 

The  man  who  has  a  vivid  remembrance  of  his  past  troubles 
and  who  cherishes  that  memory,  deliberately  throws  a  gloom 
over  his  present.  If  he  will  confine  himself  to  the  duty  of  the 
moment,  he  will  generally  find  that  he  is  quite  equal  to  it,  but 
if  he  collects  all  the  miseries  of  yesterday  and  of  the  day  before 
and  adds  more  to  the  burdens  of  to-day,  he  becomes  dis- 
heartened, and  his  discouragement  saps  his  moral  strength  and 
produces  moral  weakness.  You  have  enough  to  do  to  face 
what  is  immediately  before  you,  and  if  you  conjure  up  the 
ghosts  of  misdeeds  and  of  trials  which  have  been  outlived,  you 
do  yourself  a  serious  injury  and  interfere  with  your  spiritual 
or  business  success. 

In  like  manner,  if  you  think  you  can  master  to-day's  work, 
but  dampen  your  ardor  by  wondering  how  you  are  going  to  get 
through  to-morrow,  you  produce  a  nervous  tension  which  de- 
bilitates and  brings  about  the  very  failure  that  you  dread.  No 
man  can  carry  more  than  one  day  at  a  time.  When  Jesus  asks 
you  not  to  attempt  to  do  so  He  gives  you  wise  counsel,  and 
you  had  better  follow  the  advice. 


Our  Yesterdays  and  our  To-Morrou's.  441 

» 
Life  is  not  so  smooth  that  you  can  afford  to  make  it  rougher 

by  recalling  the  bad  roads  over  which  you  have  already  passed, 
or  anticipating  the  bad  roads  over  which  you  will  have  to  pass 
before  the  end  of  the  journey  is  reached.  You  may  be  cheer- 
ful and  therefore  strong;  if  you  will  forget  the  things  that  are 
behind  and  let  the  future  take  care  of  itself ;  but  if  you  propose 
to  add  yesterday  and  to-morrow  to  to-day,  you  will  do  what 
God  warns  you  against  doing,  and  you  will  certainly  make  a 
great  mistake. 

If  the  sun  shines  now,  be  grateful  and  contented.  Suppose 
it  did  rain  yesterday,  or  suppose  we  are  to  have  a  blizzard  to- 
morrow. You  have  gotten  beyond  the  rain  on  the  one  hand, 
and,  on  the  other,  the  time  has  not  come  to  meet  the  blizzard. 
It  is  foolish  to  make  yourself  miserable  now  because  you  were 
miserable  a  few  days  ago,  or  because  you  may  be  miserable  a 
few  days  hence.  One  duty,  one  labor  at  a  time  is  quite  enough. 
If  there  be  any  enjoyment  to  be  had,  take  it  with  an  eager 
grasp ;  for  if  you  sit  in  the  warm  sunshine  for  only  five  minutes 
it  helps  you  to  bear  the  cold  of  the  next  five  minutes.  It  is 
poor  policy  to  spoil  those  first  five  minutes  by  worrying  about 
those  other  five  minutes. 

Let  me  illustrate.  There  is  nothing  in  connection  with 
death  more  wearing  than  the  regret  that  you  did  not  do  more 
for  the  one  who  has  gone.  This  is  a  universal  experience  with 
those  who  have  any  heart.  The  fact  of  separation  seems  to 
have  a  magic  in  it,  for  it  is  suddenly  revealed  to  you  that  there 
were  many  little  attentions  which  you  failed  to  render,  and  the 
remembrance  pierces  like  a  knife.  No  one  ever  parted  with  a 
loved  one  without  self-blame  of  that  kind.  But  as  a  general 
thing  it  is  an  illusion,  conjured  up  from  overwrought  nerves. 
In  very  truth  you  did  whatever  the  circumstances  suggested, 
you  did  as  much  as  human  nature  is  capable  of  doing,  but  in 
the  presence  of  death  you  accuse  yourself  of  things  of  which 
you  are  quite  innocent,  and  in  doing  so  you  make  the  parting 
harder  to  bear.  It  may  be  well  for  the  dear  one  that  he  has 
gone.  He  has  sweet  sleep  for  the  first  time  in  many  months. 
He  is  glad  that  the  bonds  of  mortality  are  broken  and  that  he 
is  at  last  released,  and  in  the  lower  depths  of  your  own  heart 


44>  Book  of  Knowledge. 

you  are  also  glad  for  his  sake.  But  there  comes  this  thorny 
thought  that  you  may  have  been  remiss  and  your  soul  is  wrung 
by  it.  You  do  yourself  a  wrong.  You  did  what  you  could. 
You  were  tender,  loving,  gentle,  more  than  kind.  You  have 
real  burdens  enough  without  adding  imaginary  ones.  Your 
tears  must  not  be  embittered  by  an  accusation  which  has  no 
basis  in  fact.  Life  is  too  precious  and  too  short  to  be  wasted 
in  regrets  of  that  kind.  The  duties  of  the  future  demand  your 
close  attention,  and  you  have  no  right  to  think  of  the  dead 
except  to  recall  a  sweet  relationship  and  to  dream  of  a  reunion. 

Live  your  life  as  quietly  and  as  peacefully  as  possible.  Live 
in  each  day  as  it  comes.  Other  days,  whether  past  or  future, 
must  not  be  allowed  to  press  on  your  heart.  This  is  the 
noblest  policy  you  can  adopt,  the  policy  that  comes  to  you  as  a 
divine  injunction.  Let  neither  regret  nor  anticipation  intrude 
upon  you  to  make  you  weak.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  a  plan 
according  to  which  your  life  is  arranging  itself,  and  equally 
evident  that  if  you  are  reposeful  and  trustful,  and  doing  the 
duty  of  the  present  hour,  and  not  fretting  over  the  duty  of  the 
next  hour,  you  are  in  a  mental  condition  which  keeps  all  your 
powers  at  their  best. 

It  is  the  grandest  privilege  to  feel  there  is  a  God,  a  guardian 
of  human  destiny,  and  you  are  in  His  hands.  If  that  convic- 
tion is  one  of  your  possessions,  your  pearl  of  great  price,  you 
can  be  quiet  even  in  the  midst  of  tumult  and  cheerful  in  the 
midst  of  sorrows,  for  your  very  tears  will  serve  as  a  background 
for  the  rainbow  of  hope  and  promise. 

"  For  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  the  glory  of  His  Father 
with  His  angels;  and  then  He  shall  reward  every  man  accord- 
ing to  his  works."    St.  Matthew  XVI,  27. 


OUR    HURRYING   YEARS. 

For  a  thousand  years  in  Thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 
it  is  past.    Psalms  XC,  4. 

If  the  soul  grows  not  old,  what  care  we  for  the  passage  of 
time?     Even  though  we  rapidly  approach  the  hour  when  our 


Our  Yesterdays  and  our  To-Morrows.  443 

bodies  will  crumble  like  a  building  whose  stones  refuse  to  hold 
themselves  together  longer,  is  it  occasion  for  mourning  and 
regret,  or  shall  we  congratulate  ourselves  and  peer  into  the 
future  with  a  curiosity  so  mingled  with  faith  that  all  fear  is  dis- 
pelled? If  there  is  better  music  to  be  heard,  if  there  are  larger 
opportunities  to  be  embraced,  may  we  not  be  grateful  to  the 
hurrying  years  which  will  not  let  us  loiter,  but  bear  us  swiftly 
on  to  the  next  chapter  in  our  soul's  biography?  Time  reckon- 
ing is  simply  a  convenience,  nothing  more.  It  enables  us  to 
fix  the  relation  of  events  in  which  we  are  interested.  The 
seasons  change  from  fruitage  to  winter,  and  are  early  made 
into  landmarks  which  assist  the  memory.  The  earth  plunges 
through  space,  is  now  dark  and  now  light,  and  we  speak  of 
yesterday  or  yesterday  night.  It  keeps  its  even  course  about 
the  sun,  and  when  it  reaches  a  certain  station  in  its  journey  we 
speak  of  the  New  Year,  and  with  a  hand-clasp  for  neighbor  and 
friend,  wish  each  other  a  happy  transit  to  the  close  at  hand 
spring,  and  the  still  slumbering  summer,  and  the  ripening 
autumn,  with  its  wheat  fields  and  orchards,  and  the  far-away 
winter,  when  in  some  parts  of  the  earth  the  hills  and  valleys 
will  sleep  again  under  their  coverlid  of  snow. 

Time  is  only  a  fractional  part  of  the  eternity  which  is  the 
soul's  heritage.  So  if  we  use  it  well  we  need  give  no  thought 
to  its  passage.  Let  it  come,  let  it  go — why  should  we  give  it 
a  thought?  Not  even  age  can  be  counted  by  years.  We  are 
not  so  many  years  old,  but  so  much  experience  old.  Age  is 
not  discovered  by  wrinkles  on  the  face,  for  one  may  be  young 
in  heart  and  old  in  body.  I  have  seen  a  tottering  man  of 
eighty  who  was  still  a  mere  child  so  far  as  the  deep  things  of 
the  spiritual  are  concerned,  and  I  have  seen  a  youth  of  twenty 
who  had  passed  through  most  of  the  experiences  which  a  long 
life  affords.  Time,  therefore,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  soul, 
and  though  you  reckon  a  man's  summers  and  winters,  you  can- 
not guess  his  age,  for  that  is  a  secret  with  him  and  God.  It  is, 
however,  a  beautiful  and  inspiring  custom  to  cease  from  our 
work  during  this  pulse-beat  of  the  universe  which  we  call  New 
Year's  Day,  and  touch  hearts  and  hands  with  gratitude  for  the 
past  and  hope  for  the  future.    With  regret  we  look  on  the 


444  Book  of  Knowledge. 

months  that  have  slipped  away  and  been  lost  in  the  crowd  of 
events,  because  we  are  somehow  under  the  illusion  that  there 
are  only  so  many  years  allotted  to  us,  just  as  there  is  so  much 
money  in  our  treasury.  When  we  spend  our  money  we  have 
nothing  left,  but  when  we  spend  our  years  we  have  Eternity 
left.  Our  natural  inclination  is  to  view  Hfe  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  body,  and  we  therefore  get  a  very  limited  view  of 
ourselves.  We  cling  to  the  days  and  weeks  with  the  tenacity 
of  a  miser  who  hoards  his  dollars.  But  there  is  a  higher  and 
nobler  standpoint,  and  from  that  we  get  a  prospect  which 
charms,  dazzles,  and  even  oppresses  us  to  the  verge  of  grate- 
ful tears.  I  mean  the  standpoint  of  the  immortal  soul — that 
mysterious  something  whose  wings  are  hidden  in  the  flesh,  but 
which,  when  the  chiming  bells  of  death  ring  out  its  release,  will 
soar  into  upper  air  and  never  rest  in  its  flight  until,  like  a 
hovering  pigeon,  it  has  found  the  heaven  from  which  it  was 
taken  at  birth. 

The  boy  longs  to  be  a  man  full  grown.  He  spends  his  am- 
bitious nights  in  dreaming  of  the  deeds  he  will  do  when  he  has 
attained  his  stature,  his  vigor,  his  maturity.  He  even  wishes 
the  joyous  days  away  in  his  ardent  desire  for  the  future.  So 
might  it  be  with  us  if  our  faith  could  grasp  the  truth;  if  our 
eyes  could  get  a  glimpse  of  the  beyond;  if  the  shining  hill-tops 
of  the  other  world  were  not  sometimes  shrouded  in  mist.  We 
should  be  glad  that  time  hurries  us  from  one  year  to  another; 
that  the  way  to  be  trod  is  shortening,  and  that  in  a  few  more 
summers  or  winters  we  shall  be  invited  to  a  banquet  where 
the  loved  and  lost  will  bid  us  a  hearty  welcome.  But  haste  and 
thoughtfulness  must  go  together.  The  haste  is  inevitable  and 
the  thoughtfulness  is  a  duty.  There  is  no  harm  in  running  if 
one  knows  what  object  he  is  pursuing. 

The  skeptic  who  runs  toward  a  precipice  from  which  he 
will  be  hurled  into  eternal  oblivion,  who  dhases  the  mad  ambi- 
tions of  his  little  day  and  then  suddenly  evaporates,  body  and 
soul,  and  finds  the  only  rest  from  his  labors  in  annihilation, 
leads  a  useless  Hfe  and  ends  with  a  broken  heart.  The  pros- 
pect so  depresses  him  that  he  knows  not  which  way  to  turn. 
But  just  stop  and  look  at  nature  and  everything  in  it  and  then 


Our  Yesterdays  and  our  To-Morrows,  445 

you  will  realize  that  it  is  all  a  plan  of  Eternal  law,  and  as  Henry 
Drummond  says,  "  This  earth  is  a  great  big  schoolhouse  and 
we  are  all  scholars,"  and  so  it  is.  The  better  scholar  of  nature, 
the  larger  our  souls  become,  and  the  more  ready  we  are  to 
meet  our  loved  ones  in  the  life  beyond. 

"  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our 
hearts  unto  wisdom."     Psalms  XC,  12. 

"  Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us  unto 
Christ,  that  we  may  be  justified  by  faith."     Galatians  III,  24. 

"  But  after  that  faith  is  come  (the  communication  between 
the  two  worlds)  we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster." 
Galatians  III,  25. 

SOMETHING   ELSE. 

There  is  a  natural  body  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body,  1  Cor. 
XV,  44. 

I  am  always  a  little  confused  when  metaphysicians  tell  me 
that  I  have  a  body,  a  mind,  a  spirit,  and  a  soul.  It  may  be 
true,  but  I  cannot  make  it  plain  to  myself  that  these  four  en- 
tities are  all  separate  and  independent  of  each  other.  It  is  an 
intricate  problem  and  I  only  waste  valuable  time  in  trying  to 
understand  it.  So  I  make  myself  satisfied  by  saying  that  I 
consist  of  a  body,  which  is  evidently  a  short-lived  piece  of 
mechanism,  and  a  Something  Else,  which  I  feel  sure  will  out- 
last the  ravages  of  this  earthly  experience.  The  subdivisions 
of  that  Something  Else  I  may  know  very  little  about,  and,  if 
truth  be  told,  I  care  less.  But  of  one  thing  I  have  never  had 
any  doubt — namely,  that  this  Something  Else  is  my  controlling 
influence  and  that  the  body  is  its  servitor.  What  goes  on  in 
the  inner  man  decides,  at  least  to  a  large  extent,  what  shall 
happen  to  the  body  of  man.  Health  depends  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent than  we  have  ever  imagined,  though  physicians  noted  the 
fact  and  acted  upon  it  ages  ago,  on  our  state  of  mind.  Our 
thoughts  are  practically  chemical  agents  which  force  the  func- 
tions of  the  body  to  reflect  them.  They  can  either  transform 
and  transfigure  the  face  or  they  can  deform  and  disfigure  it. 


44^  Book  of  Knowledge, 

A  devilish  thought  cannot  evade  the  development  of  a  devilish 
face;  it  would  be  an  anomaly  and  a  miracle. 

If  a  man  surrenders  himself  to  dissipation  and  passion  there 
will  be  furrows  and  lines  which  advertise  that  fact.  The  laws 
of  nature  work  in  that  way  and  they  are  inexorable.  If  one 
were  skilled  he  could  at  once  read  the  character  of  a  man  in 
his  physical  appearance.  The  story  is  all  there,  but  our  knowl- 
edge is  imperfect  and  we  are  frequently  deceived.  Can  a  man 
be  avaricious,  contemptible  and  mean  for  many  years,  make 
these  qualities  the  keynote  of  his  life,  and  still  wear  an  expres- 
sion which  indicates  benevolence  and  a  high  sense  of  honor? 
(I  would  advise  all  my  readers  to  read  Mary  O.  Stanton's 
scientific  work  on  "  Physiognomy,  and  How  to  Read  Faces." 
Every  family  and  every  business  man  should  have  one  of  her 
books;  her  writings  fully  explain  all  this.)  As  you  look  at  a 
beggar's  face  and  see  that  he  has  been  pinched  with  hunger, 
so  can  you  look  into  the  miser's  face  and  see  that  his  soul  has 
been  stunted  in  its  growth.  The  opposite  holds  good  also.  A 
good  life,  a  life  of  kindliness  and  integrity,  a  life  that  is  wholly 
above  board,  shows  itself  in  the  facial  expression,  in  the  clear 
and  honest  look  of  the  eyes;  in  lines  about  the  mouth,  and  in 
the  general  beaming.  No  one  was  ever  yet  conscious  of  sin 
without  being  a  coward,  and  cowardice  produces  certain 
physical  results  which  are  palpable;  no  one  ever  went  triumph- 
antly through  terrible  temptation  or  bowed  with  quiet  resigna- 
tion under  the  burden  of  a  great  affliction  without  uncon- 
sciously betraying  these  facts  to  every  careful  observer. 

Your  body  depends  on  the  state  of  your  soul.  This  is  a 
truth  which  we  have  just  begun  to  recognize,  but  its  recogni- 
tion, when  it  becomes  full,  will  change  the  whole  complexion  of 
our  lives.  The  evils  from  which  we  suffer  and  the  health  which 
we  so  thoroughly  enjoy  are  the  consequences  of  what  is  going 
on  within  the  laboratory  where  thoughts  originate.  In  that 
secret  laboratory,  the  forces  which  make  or  unmake  are  gener- 
ated, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  the  distant  future,  when 
spiritual  research  has  accomplished  its  perfect  work,  we  shall 
have  different  bodies,  more  healthy  and  more  vigorous,  be- 
cause we  shall  put  this  Something  Else  on  the  throne  and  obey 
its  royal  commands. 


Our  Yesterdays  and  our  To-Morrows.  447 

What,  then,  is  religion  and  what  is  its  purpose?  Is  it 
merely  speculation  or  is  it  practical?  Is  it  something  up  in  the 
air,  to  be  used  as  a  sedative  when  you  are  about  to  die,  or  as  a 
disagreeable  but  remedial  drug  when  we  yield  to  sin?  Or  is 
it  a  sun  bath,  a  draught  of  the  water  of  life,  a  northwest  wind 
that  supplies  the  lungs  with  oxygen?  If  the  latter,  then  it  is 
not  for  the  last  hours  of  life,  but  for  the  whole  life;  it  is  not 
a  luxury  which  only  the  few  can  have,  but  a  necessity  which 
everybody  must  have. 

The  ideas  on  which  religion  is  based  and  from  which  its 
demands  are  drawn  are  the  most  inspiring  and  elevating  which 
the  human  mind  can  entertain.  To  believe  firmly  that  there  is 
above  you  a  God  whom  you  may  address  in  prayer  and  from 
whom  you  have  a  right  to  expect  help  and  advice;  whose 
kindly  Providence  over  you  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps ;  a  God 
whose  laws  do  not  represent  irresistible  power,  but  paternal 
solicitude  and  love,  and  who  requires  obedience  not  for  His 
own  sake  but  solely  for  yours;  how  can  a  man  accept  such 
thoughts  and  not  be  ennobled,  uplifted  and  strengthened  by 
them?  Add  to  this  a  belief  that  the  angels — some  of  them  the 
departed  members  of  your  own  household,  cannot  lose  their 
interest  in  those  who  remain  to  finish  their  day's  work;  have 
learned  that  the  journey  from  heaven  to  earth  is  a  short  one 
and  are  glad  to  take  it  when  their  presence  is  needed  here. 
How  can  a  man  be  fed  on  that  kind  of  food  and  not  develop 
health  and  vigor  ?  Add  once  more  the  faith  that  when  shadows 
fall  we  shall  sleep  a  pleasant  sleep  and  be  roused  by  the  loving 
touch  of  dear  ones  who  will  be  glad  to  welcome  us  to  the  new 
and  everlasting  home — well,  then  you  have  builded  the  arch 
and  put  the  keystone  in  its  place. 

The  glorious  Christ  taught  all  that;  He  lived  all  that,  and 
He  died  on  the  cross  in  attestation  of  all  that. 

The  Something  Else  in  you  is  better  than  your  body. 

"  But  he  answered  and  said,  it  is  written,  man  shall  not  live 
by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth  of  God."    St.  Matthew  IV,  4. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

FAITH  AND  POWER. 

And  Stephen  full  of  faith  mid  power,  did  great  wonders  and 
miracles  among  the  people.    Acts  VI,  8. 

When  we  look  out  on  this  strange  but  beautiful  world,  in 
which  our  tents  are  pitched  for  a  day  and  a  night,  we  see,  first 
a  manifestation  of  power  which  is  inexorable  and  irresistible; 
and,  second,  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  everything  to  go  in  a 
straight  line  toward  some  definite  end.  Things  seem  to  know 
why  they  exist,  and  they  keep  themselves  busy  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  their  destiny. 

I  sometimes  think  of  the  universe  as  a  countless  multitude 
of  profound  thoughts  which  I  cannot  quite  grasp  or  under- 
stand. Every  tree,  cloud,  mountain  or  valley  appeals  to  me 
as  a  conscious  entity  like  the  several  members  of  an  orchestra, 
watching  the  baton  of  the  leader  and  helping  to  produce  "  the 
music  of  the  spheres." 

There  is  boundless  and  joyous  life  everywhere  and  any- 
where— a  distinct  and  well-defined  plan  as  when  some  vast 
structure  is  being  builded,  and  the  multitude  of  workmen,  ap- 
parently in  confusion  but  really  in  perfect  order,  are  slowly 
giving  material  shape  to  the  dream  of  the  architect. 

The  tiniest  seed  produces  only  the  plant  whose  name  is 
written  in  invisible  characters  on  its  heart,  and  is  happy  in  its 
task.  The  rosebush  sends  its  roots  into  the  sympathetic  soil, 
makes  demands  for  those  chemical  elements  out  of  which  only 
a  rose  can  be  constructed,  and  such  is  the  harmony  between 
bush  and  soil  that  no  other  ingredients  except  those  asked  for 
are  ever  supplied. 

If  it  were  possible  for  a  handful  of  wheat  to  produce  a  crop 
of  thistles,  we  should  regard  creation  as  an  experiment  whose 


Faith  and  Power.  449 

manager  was  not  quite  sure  of  himself,  and  the  issue  of  which 
was  somewhat  in  doubt.  But  it  is  clear  that  boundless  power 
is  operating  in  accord  with  boundless  wisdom,  and  the  general 
outcome  shows  that  behind  the  wisdom  and  the  power  is  the 
intention  to  make  a  happy  universe.  There  is  no  chance  any- 
where, any  more  than  in  a  manufactory,  where  each  machine 
does  its  individual  part  of  the  work  by  which  the  raw  material 
is  changed  into  a  commercial  fabric.  Seeming  confusion  is 
simply  misunderstood  order,  and  apparent  evil  is  evolving  ulti- 
mate and  infinite  good. 

Now  what  is  the  relation  of  man  to  this  condition  of  affairs, 
and  in  what  does  his  religion  consist?  That  is  the  main  point 
in  which  we  are  interested,  because  our  comfort  and  usefulness 
depend  on  our  interpretation.  Spiritual  laws  must  be  the 
result  of  knowledge,  and  it  must  be  based  on  the  eternal  and 
unchangeable  facts  which  make  up  our  environment.  Our 
religion  (Spiritualism)  is  another  word  for  science  in  its  high- 
est and  broadest  definition,  and  it  must  be  of  such  a  nature 
that  no  m.an's  mind  can  brush  aside  its  demands ;  that  every- 
one can  see  that  it  is  reasonable ;  that  it  is  imperative ;  and  that 
without  it  we  cannot  reach  the  highest  spiritual  elevation  of 
which  the  soul  is  capable. 

The  Christ's  teachings  open  the  door  for  our  entrance  into 
the  Temple  of  the  Creator.  He  was  acquainted  with  the  great 
secret.  He  lived  in  accordance  with  a  profound  philosophy. 
His  death  on  the  cross  showed  that  he  was  mentally  superior 
to  the  physical  suffering  imposed  by  an  ignorant  and  bigoted 
people.  "  The  thieves,  also,  which  were  crucified  with  him, 
cast  the  same  in  his  teeth."  St.  Matthew  XXVH,  44.  If  we 
possess  his  thought  we  can  live  on  so  lofty  a  level  that  hard- 
ship and  tears  and  bereavement  will  be  stepping  stones  in  our 
ascent  to  another  world. 

If  the  universe  is  a  great  reservoir  of  ever  active  power 
used  by  wisdom,  and  if  there  is  a  plan  which  is  being  worked 
out,  then  we  can  never  be  at  peace  until  we  are  willingly  a  part 
of  that  plan  and  are  doing  our  share  toward  its  completion.  To 
be  in  harmony  with  eternal  laws,  to  see  the  end  from  the  be<. 
ginning,  and  to  keep  it  in  sight  throughout  the  journey,  as  the 


4SO  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mariner  keeps  his  eye  on  the  compass  in  storm  and  calm — that 
is  to  be  at  one  with  God  and  to  have  all  the  omnipotence  of 
the  Almighty  at  command.  There  is  no  limit  to  Spiritualism, 
because  we  can  draw  from  the  reservoir  as  we  draw  electricity 
from  the  clouds  or  water  from  the  ocean.  He  prayed  that  we 
might  be  one  with  Him.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  command 
over  the  forces  of  nature  should  not  be  ours  as  well  as  His. 
This  may  seem  to  be  a  strange  truth,  but  it  is  truth  neverthe- 
less. God  will  come  to  our  rescue  provided  we  do  not  shut 
Him  out,  and  religion  consists  in  keeping  the  door  open  be- 
tween the  two  worlds.  All  heaven  belongs  to  us — God — Christ 
— and  the  angels — if  we  are  in  harmony  with  the  universe. 

It  the  Eternal  laws  are  our  laws,  we  not  only  have  a  religion 
which  will  stand  the  test  of  sickness,  sorrow  and  death,  but  one 
which  will  brighten  every  experience,  lighten  every  burden, 
make  us  healthy  in  body  because  we  are  healthy  in  mind,  and 
render  the  great  change  which  we  now  dread  so  much  a  wel- 
come transit  to  a  world  in  which  we  shall  be  greeted  by  those 
whom  we  have  mourned  as  lost. 

**  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me  ye  might 
have  peace.  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation:  but  be  of 
good  cheer :  I  have  overcome  the  world."    St.  John  XVI,  33. 


REJOICE  ALWAYS. 

But  let  every  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall  he  have 
rejoicing  in  himself  alone,  and  not  in  another.    Galatians  VI,  4. 

It  is  just  as  much  our  duty  to  enjoy  life  as  it  is  to  work 
or  sleep.  It  is  therefore  very  important  that  we  should  so 
arrange  our  lives  that  they  will  furnish  the  largest  amount  of 
enjoyment.  I  do  not  say  that  you  can  be  perfectly  happy  all 
the  time,  for  no  part  of  our  discipline  is  more  needed  by  the 
soul  than  that  which  comes  from  the  trials  and  disappoint- 
ments, and  even  the  profound  sorrows  through  which  we  are 
forced  to  pass.  One  may  even  say  that  he  who  has  never  wept 
does  not  know  the  value  of  laughter,  and  that  he  who  has  not 
toiled  along  the  hot  and  dreary  road  does  not  appreciate  the 


Faith  and  Power.  451 

1 
bliss  of  sitting  under  the  friendly  branches  of  a  tree,  with  a 

cool  spring  bubbling  at  his  feet  for  a  short  period  of  rest.  It 
is  only  when  we  are  deprived  of  a  blessing  that  we  discover  its 
worth,  and  he  alone  is  grateful  in  its  possession  who  knows 
what  it  is  to  get  along  without  it.  ("  For  every  man  shall  bear 
his  own  burden."  Galatians  VI,  5).  I  have  heard  a  saint  (a 
dear  woman  who  has  lived  a  saintly  life  and  who  is  daily  sur- 
rounded by  the  angels)  say  that  neither  man  nor  woman  can 
rightly  define  heaven  until  they  stand  by  a  new-made  grave. 
One  may  sometimes  see  more  through  his  tears  than  when 
looking  through  the  largest  telescope  that  was  ever  made. 

I  do  not  ignore  the  serious  or  solemn  side  of  life,  but  I 
assure  you  that  if  you  add  to  the  gloom  by  gloomy  thoughts, 
you  not  only  make  a  mistake  so  far  as  your  own  comfort  is 
concerned,  but  you  are  to  that  extent  irreligious.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  you  preserve  a  cheerful  attitude;  when  you 
brighten  your  life  by  dwelling  on  the  good  things  you  have 
rather  than  on  those  you  wish  you  had ;  when  you  make  your- 
self as  happy  as  your  circumstances  will  allow,  you  are  in  the 
proper  frame  of  mind  to  receive  religious  truth — ^you  are  in 
accord  with  the  eternal  plan  and  have  taken  the  first  step  in 
the  direction  of  true  religion.  You  open  your  doors  and  home 
for  the  angels  to  enter  and  comfort  you,  but  so  long  as  you 
regard  your  environments  as  all  wrong  and  unfitted  to  you; 
so  long  as  you  find  fault  because  you  think  you  are  not  where 
you  ought  to  be ;  just  so  long  do  you  bar  the  way  to  a  higher 
level  and  chain  yourself  to  a  dungeon  floor.  The  angels,  with 
their  soothing  and  encouraging  influence,  can  no  more  reach 
you  than  the  sunshine  can  get  through  a  window  which  you 
have  deliberately  bricked  up.  I  can  almost  say  that  a  human 
soul  can  so  surround  itself  with  an  atmosphere  of  discontent 
and  doubt  that  the  Lord  Himself  cannot  effect  an  entrance, 
while  what  is  injurious  (because  it  is  evil)  is  as  much  at  home 
as  a  poisonous  plant  that  thrives  on  miasma.  If  you  are  long- 
ing for  the  light  you  will  go  to  a  spot  where  the  light  can  reach 
you,  but  it  is  foolish  to  declare  that  there  is  no  light  when  you 
sit  in  a  dark  corner  where  only  shadows  dwell.  There  are  very 
few  lives  in  which  a  degree  of  happiness  may  not  be  found  if 


452  Book  of  Knowledge. 

it  is  sought  for.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  we  must  work 
to  be  happy  just  as  we  work  to  be  rich.  If  we  want  wealth  we 
fix  our  minds  upon  it.  We  know  if  we  discover  its  hiding- 
place  our  dreams  will  be  realized.  We  plan  to  get  it,  and  have 
sufficient  confidence  in  ourselves  to  keep  us  on  the  alert.  No 
opportunity  escapes  us,  and  we  make  the  most  of  every  one 
that  presents  itself.  I  cannot  see  why  the  principle  should 
not  be  applied  to  religion,  neither  can  I  see  why  it  should  not 
be  successful.  We  go  to  get  riches,  but  we  expect  happiness 
and  contentment  to  come  to  us.  We  work  for  fame,  for  social 
influence,  for  all  worldly  good  things ;  but  it  seldom  occurs  to 
us  that  we  must  also  work  for  that  mental  and  spiritual  con- 
dition in  which  life  is  experienced  at  its  best.  And  yet  a  man 
— that  is  the  law  as  I  understand  it — should  be  as  keen  in  his 
search  for  peace  of  mind,  for  resignation,  for  self-control,  as  he 
is  for  dollars;  and  he  should  begin  the  task  in  the  conviction 
that  God  wants  him  to  be  happy  rather  than  miserable,  and  has 
so  made  the  universe  and  arranged  our  environments  that  we 
may  spend  contented  years  in  this  lower  sphere  and  be  joyfully 
raised  to  a  higher  life  after  death. 

If  you  look  at  life  from  your  own  standpoint  then  you  will 
say  that  I  am  a  mere  visionary;  that  I  have  dreamed  dreams 
that  can  never  come  true.  But  if  you  look  at  it  from  God's 
standpoint,  you  will  admit  that  you  are  wrong  and  that  I  am 
stating  startling  facts.  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  religion  which 
does  not  lighten  human  burdens. 

I  do  not  believe  that  God  ever  spoke  a  word  in  the  way  of 
revelation  which  was  not  intended  to  make  the  soul  serene 
and  happy.  If  we  do  not  interpret  the  Bible  after  this  fashion, 
then  we  misinterpret  it.  It  is  a  closed  book  to  us,  and  we  have 
not  learned  to  read  it.  Never  look  on  the  dark  side  with  dark 
feelings  in  your  heart,  for  you  thereby  make  the  darkness 
darker  still.  Look  at  it  from  the  conviction  that  God  is  over- 
head; a  conviction  which  is  like  the  lantern  carried  by  the 
traveller  in  the  night  time,  and  you  will  find  reason  to  rejoice, 
even  when  the  clouds  are  heavy  and  the  path  is  steep.  If 
Christ  could  walk  with  unfaltering  steps  to  the  place  of  cruci- 
fixion because  He  knew  that  it  was  the  road  to  Heaven,  surely; 


Faith  and  Power.  453 

we  can  lay  aside  this  unworthy  habit  of  magnifying  the  petty 
ills  of  life,  and,  by  faith  in  the  Providence  which  has  never  yet 
deserted  us,  and  in  the  watchful  care  of  the  angels  who  attend 
us,  can  find  occasion  to  rejoice  every  day  until  the  setting  sun 
ushers  us  into  a  world  to  which  this  is  as  the  portico  of  the 
cathedral  is  to  the  cathedral  itself. 

"Be  not  deceived;  God  is  not  mocked;  for  whatsoever  a 
man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap."    Galatians  VI,  7. 


THE  HIGHER  TRUTH. 

Wherefore  seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great 
a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin 
which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the 
race  that  is  set  before  us.    Hebrews  XII,  i. 

Dear  reader,  let  you  and  me  review  this  together,  and  think 
that  everybody  has  a  religious  side  to  his  nature.  It  may  be 
hidden  as  gold  is  frequently  hidden  in  a  pocket  many  feet  under 
the  ground,  but  it  is  there  and  it  is  worth  all  the  pains  required 
to  get  at  it.  No  man  is  soaked  in  depravity  as  a  sponge  is 
soaked  in  water,  with  every  cell  and  pore  full  of  it.  Even  the 
"  Satan  of  Milton  "  had  moments  of  regret,  and,  though  they 
were  quickly  followed  by  the  desperation  engendered  by  defeat, 
he  not  only  excites  our  pity  but  forces  the  conviction  that  the 
longing  for  higher  things  was  not  wholly  suppressed.  As  for 
you  and  me,  we  have  a  constant  desire  to  be  true-hearted,  vir- 
tuous and  high-minded,  and  this  desire  is  like  the  lamp  in  some 
Catholic  churches  whose  flame  is  dim,  but  is  never  allowed  to 
go  out.  At  the  same  time  we  lack  some  special  soul-ingredient 
which  would  make  us  firm  of  purpose  and  enable  us  to  attain 
our  ideal.  We  are  not  so  wicked  as  we  are  weak.  We  are 
so  contradictory  that  we  honestly  want  to  do  right  and  forth- 
with do  the  wrong.  The  most  surprising  fact  in  our  lives  is 
that  we  are  no  better  than  we  are.  We  are  thus  a  disappoint- 
ment to  ourselves,  and  we  wonder  why  we  have  allowed  our- 
selves to  be  cajoled  by  pleasures  which  have  not  been  profit- 
able and  by  excitement  and  indulgences  w*hich  have  been  harm- 


454  Book  of  Knowledge, 

ful.  In  these  respects  we  are  a  mystery  and  a  puzzle  to  our- 
selves. 

As  we  look  back  it  seems  as  though  a  heap  of  precious 
stones  were  within  easy  reach,  but  for  some  unaccountable 
reason  we  are  satisfied  with  a  handful  of  pebbles.  Our  most 
serious  difficulty  is  that  while  we  intellectually  assent  to  cer- 
tain truths  we  do  not  make  them  a  part  of  our  spiritual  life. 
We  do  not  really  believe  the  half  of  what  we  say  we  believe. 
We  are  not  hypocrites,  and  there  is  no  intention  to  deceive 
either  ourselves  or  anyone  else,  but  our  creed  is  a  theory  and 
not  a  practice.  When  a  hungry  man  eats,  the  food  nourishes 
his  body  and  becomes  a  part  of  muscles  and  nerves,  but  when 
we  say  that  God  is  present  in  our  lives  it  is  a  hollow  statement 
which  has  no  personal  relation  to  us.  It  is  because  we  feel 
Him  to  be  far  away  that  our  experience  is  so  hard.  He  and  the 
dear  angels,  our  loved  ones,  are  really  near,  but  we  cannot 
convince  ourselves  that  it  is  so,  and  as  a  consequence  we  miss 
the  helpfulness  of  the  greatest  truths  ever  revealed  to  man. 

Try  to  imagine  the  condition,  mental  and  spiritual,  in  which 
we  would  find  ourselves  if  we  had  followed  St.  Paul's  advice 
years  ago  and  were  now  the  product  of  the  higher  life  to  which 
he  points.  I  think  our  creed  would  be  shorter  and  our  faith 
stronger.  We  should  have  that  kind  of  religion  which  is  to 
the  soul  what  health  is  to  the  body.  For  that  matter,  since  a 
man  can  be  depressed  physically  by  gloomy  thoughts  and  ex- 
hilarated by  cheerfulness,  he  would  have  a  perfect  body  and  a 
sane  mind.  This  world,  in  spite  of  its  many  cares  and  troubles, 
its  tears  and  bereavements,  would  be  the  beautiful  ante- 
chamber of  the  palace  to  which  we  shall  be  summoned  by  that 
suave  messenger  of  the  most  high  whom  we  call  death.  So 
far  from  dreading  his  coming,  as  we  do  now,  we  would  look 
forward  to  the  time  when  the  gate  will  be  swung  open  for  our 
entrance.  And  as  to  our  present  struggle,  we  would  be  like 
the  traveller  who  is  bearing  a  somewhat  heavy  burden,  but  who 
is  cheered  by  the  hope  of  reunion  with  dear  ones  in  the  larger 
home  near  at  hand. 

There  is  nothing  we  could  not  do,  or  become,  or  endure  if 
we  were  only  sure  that  the  "  God  Power  "  had  set  us  our  task 


Faith  and  Power.  455 

and  would  help  us  to  accomplish  it.  Some  one  dies,  for 
example.  How  do  we  receive  the  sorrow?  Do  we  think  of 
the  mother,  the  wife,  the  child,  as  having  been  benefited  by 
the  change?  Have  we  the  moral  courage  to  utter  a  prayer  of 
congratulation  because  the  chains  have  dropped  and  the  pris- 
oner is  free  ?  On  the  contrary,  the  so-called  religion  fails  us  in 
the  supreme  moment,  and  instead  of  thinking  of  the  trans- 
figuration we  think  of  the  tomb. 

Now  we  will  look  again.  There  are  the  supposed  lost  but 
still  loved — the  dear  ones  whose  voices  were  long  since  hushed 
— and  they  long  for  reunion  even  as  you  do.  In  heaven,  the 
spiritual  world,  you  and  they  will  once  more  embrace.  With 
such  a  prospect  does  life  pay?  Is  it  worth  while  to  struggle 
and  be  patient,  to  mourn  and  be  resigned?  What  are  these 
tears  and  smiles  and  struggles  but  stepping  stones  up  which  we 
climb  with  difficulty  but  with  a  heart  of  hope  and  faith  and 
gladness  ?  The  storms  may  lower ;  they  are  nothing.  We  may 
even  follow  our  loved  ones  to  the  grave :  it  is  nothing.  The 
spiritual  world  is  close  at  hand,  and  this  lower  life  is  a  glorious 
life,  because,  like  the  turbulent  river,  it  flows  into  eternity. 

"  And  let  us  not  be  weary  in  well  doing ;  for  in  due  season 
we  s'hall  reap,  if  we  faint  not."     Galatians  VI,  9. 


FAITH— KNOWLEDGE. 

He  that  helievcth  on  Mc,  the  works  that  I  do,  shall  he  do  also  ; 
and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do.    St.  John  XIV,  12. 

This  text  has  long  been  a  stumbling  block  because  it  con- 
tains a  promise  or  prophecy  of  such  astounding  nature  that  a 
full  appreciation  of  it  is  apparently  impossible.  We  have  tried 
to  explain  it  in  such  a  way  that  the  incredible  has  not  been  in- 
volved, or  we  have  quietly  laid  it  aside  as  a  mystery  which  our 
reverence  will  not  allow  us  to  examine  closely.  But  the  only 
way  to  interpret  the  Scriptures  is  to  do  it  boldly.  Hesitation 
is  sometimes  fatal.  Christ  was  not  dealing  in  hyperbole  when 
He  uttered  these  words,  and  in  simple  justice,  therefore,  we  are 
bound  to  accept  His  statement  in  a  literal  sense.     Because  we 


456  Book  of  Knowledge. 

have  not  received  it  in  this  way,  but  have  measured  it  by  our 
own  standard  of  what  is  possible,  we  have  lost  sight  of  the 
truth  which  He  was  at  such  pains  to  emphasize.  It  is  a  tre- 
mendous truth,  and  above  the  reach  of  our  comprehension  in 
this  age  of  greed  and  selfishness,  but  a  truth  which  will  be  the 
chief  jewel  in  the  diadem  of  progress  when  advancing  science 
shall  have  discovered  the  right  relation  between  a  soul  and 
the  world  in  which  it  sojourns  or  bivouacs.  More  knowledge 
in  Christ  means  more  power  to  control  the  forces  of  nature. 
When  that  knowledge  shall  become  perfect  in  the  centuries 
of  the  future,  nature  will  cease  to  be  our  tyrant  and  terror,  as 
now,  and  change  to  servant;  and  we  shall  find  it  was  intended 
by  Providence  that  men  should  be  the  masters  of  their  environ- 
ments, even  as  Christ  was;  and,  as  He  promised,  we  also 
should  be  under  certain  conditions,  and  nothing  but  ignorance 
or  lack  of  faith  prevents  us  from  reaching  that  consummation. 
When  we  shall  live  as  He  did,  when  God  is  manifest  in  us  as 
He  was  manifest  in  Him,  we  shall  have  both  the  Christ  spirit 
and  the  Christ  power.  If  this  seems  to  be  a  rash  assertion,  I 
fall  back  on  the  New  Testament  for  my  defense.  I  therefore 
open  a  vista  to  you,  thoughts  so  radiant,  so  dazzling  that  the 
heart  trembles  and  the  eyes  fill  with  tears  of  wonder.  The 
truth,  however,  is  always  startling  and  always  difficult  to  accept. 
Let  me  illustrate  the  text  by  comparing  small  things  with 
great;  When  the  first  steamboat  ploughed  its  slow  way  up  the 
Hudson  the  world  felt  that  it  stood  on  the  threshold  of  a  new 
and  glorious  era.  Robert  Fulton  had  wrought  a  miracle! 
That  is  to  say,  he  had  caught  and  harnessed  certain  laws 
hitherto  unknown  and  unapplied.  The  law  had  always  existed, 
but  he  drew  it  from  its  hiding-place  and  applied  it  to  the  wel- 
fare of  mankind.  Suppose  some  prophet  or  seer  had  come 
from  the  other  world  and  explained  that  incident  to  the  people. 
He  would  have  told  them  that  what  they  considered  a  marvel 
was  the  expression  of  a  law  which  they  would  sometime  under- 
stand, and  which  they  would  utilize  for  their  convenience  and 
comfort ;  that  the  marvel  would  cease  to  be  a  marvel  when  they 
were  sufficiently  educated  to  grasp  the  law  which  made  it 
possible,  and  that  it  was  only  the  beginning  of  a  larger  com- 


Faith  and  Power.  457 

mercial  and  domestic  life  which  future  generations  would  en- 
joy. 

Now  let  us  ascend  from  the  valley  of  material  things  to  the 
lofty  regions  of  spiritual  concerns.  The  Christ  had  little  to  do 
with  the  bodies  of  men,  except  indirectly,  but  much  to  do  with 
their  souls.  He  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  soul's  discoverer. 
He  drew  the  line  of  life  beyond  the  confines  rf  the  grave  until 
it  stretched  into  the  unknown  and  mist-covered  regions  of 
eternity.  God  and  we,  He  said,  must  act  in  harmony  before 
the  ideal  can  be  reached.  But  with  God  ever  at  our  right  hand, 
and  a  heaven  in  which  the  several  loves  of  earth  shall  be  re- 
united, continuously  in  plain  sight,  there  is  no  limit  to  our 
spiritual  possibilities.  The  Father's  power  is  our  power.  The 
laws  of  the  Father,  once  recognized  and  appreciated,  will  not 
only  transform  our  feebleness,  but  will  make  us  masters  of  our- 
selves and  masters  of  circumstances.  If  we  can  give  up  self 
and  love  as  Christ  loved;  if  we  can  live  and  move  and  have 
our  being  and  our  thought  in  God,  then  God  will  be  our  God, 
and  the  soul  will  be  enthroned  so  securely  that  the  word  "  im- 
possible "  can  be  elim'inated  from  our  vocabulary.  Christ  did 
that,  and  disease  fled  at  His  touch.  He  was  on  the  thres'hold 
of  our  new  spiritual  life.  His  secret  was  His  oneness  with  our 
Father;  and  when  the  shadows  fell  on  His  three  years  of  reve- 
lation, and  the  heavens  flung  wide  their  doors  to  receive  Him, 
He  said,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do,  shall 
he  do  also;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do.'*  A 
hard  saying,  but  gloriously  true  or  He  would  not  have  said  it. 
Faith  and  knowledge  bring  omnipotence  within  our  reach. 

"  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek  and  ye  shall  find ; 
knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.'*    St.  Matthew  VH,  7. 

A    BEAUTIFUL   WORLD. 

For  whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord:  and  whether  we 
die,  we  die  unto  the  Lord.  Whether  we  live,  therefore,  or  die, 
we  are  the  Lord's.    Romans  XIV,  8. 

It  may  be  a  wicked  world  in  which  we  live,  as  some  people 
say  it  is,  but  it  has  a  keen  appreciation  of  honesty,  self-sacrifice. 


458  Book  of  Knowledge. 

integrity  and  all  dlher  noble  qualities  of  human  nature.  For 
myself  I  think  it  a  perfectly  satisfactory  world,  physically 
beautiful  and  spiritually  excellent.  I  am  glad  that  I  was  born 
into  it,  and  I  shall  be  willing  to  leave  it  not  because  I  am  tired 
of,  it,  but  because  I  firmly  believe  that  the  future  has  something 
better  in  store  for  me,  and  one  always  ought  to  be  ready  to 
part  with  a  coin  of  copper  if  he  can  exchange  it  for  a  coin  of 
gold. 

Christ  the  Mediator  instilled  into  the  mind  and  heart  new 
principles  and  faith  in  the  same  way  that  a  baker  pours  yeast 
into  the  dough.  The  process  of  fermentation  begins  its  work 
at  once.  Its  action  may  be  slow,  and  at  certain  stages  you 
may  declare  with  something  like  reason  that  the  whole  mass 
is  worthless  and  that  the  experiment  is  a  failure.  But  there  is 
a  persistency  in  yeast  which  is  simply  irresistible  and  at  the 
end  it  will  conquer,  and  the  character  of  the  mass  will  be 
changed  for  the  better;  that  is  the  result  of  law,  a  very  benefi- 
cent law,  by  which  the  unworthy  is  gotten  rid  of,  and  the 
good  at  last  prevails.  True  there  is  wickedness  in  the  world, 
plenty  of  it,  and  we  are  once  in  awhile  on  the  verge  of  despair. 
We  tremble  for  the  future  because  we  forget  that  God  is  in 
control  of  the  universe.  A  convalescent  may  have  pains  and 
still  be  on  the  road  to  health.  The  pains  are  themselves  a 
proof  that  he  is  getting  well,  an  incident  in  his  progress  toward 
the  desired  end.  In  like  manner  there  may  be  evils  in  the 
world,  for  we  have  not  yet  attained  to  moral  perfection;  but, 
as  the  earth  is  speeding  on  its  way  through  space  while  we  are 
unconscious  of  any  motion,  so  speed  mankind  toward  "  the 
consummation  so  devoutedly  to  be  wished,"  and  our  pessimism 
and  cynicism  cannot  block  the  way.  Christ  was  more  truly 
in  our  midst  to-day  than  He  was  in  Judea  nineteen  centuries 
ago,  and  His  influence  has  an  ever-increasing  circumference. 
The  musician  may  gather  only  a  small  audience  at  first,  and 
people  may  pass  him  by  indifferently  while  some  may  even 
scorn  him,  but  men  love  music  if  it  is  at  its  best,  and  the  hour 
comes  when  all  the  weary  and  worn  and  tired  and  troubled  stop 
to  listen  because  their  hearts  are  cheered  and  their  drooping 
spirits  are  encouraged.      Something    within    responds  to  the 


Faith  and  Powef.  450 

something  without,  and  the  notes  that  vibrate  in  the  air  are 
heard  with  the  rapture  of  gratitude.  The  teachings  of  the 
God  Power  are  not  a  luxury  but  a  necessity.  We  may  have 
our  prejudices  or  we  may  revel  in  agnosticism,  but  down  deep 
in  the  soul,  hidden  perhaps  under  the  rubbish  of  wealth  and 
passion  and  ambition,  are  longings  which  cannot  be  repressed 
and  which  only  the  spiritual  law  can  satisfy.  Some  experience 
is  sure  to  bring  a  consciousness  of  that  fact,  and  in  that  hour 
we  shall  hasten  to  Him  and  the  dear  angels,  or  regret  that  we 
are  wilful  enough  to  stay  away.  The  most  pitiful  man  on  the 
planet  is  he  w'ho  is  a  stranger  to  the  knowledge  of  the  life  here- 
after. "  But  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God — for  they  are  foolishness  unto  Him;  neither  can 
He  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  i  Cor. 
XI,  14.  "  He  that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things,  yet  he  him- 
self is  judged  of  no  man."     i  Cor.  XI,  15. 

The  world  may  still  be  running  wild  and  spending  itself  for 
what  is  not  worth  having,  but  the  good  is  stronger  than  ever, 
and  evil  is  growing  weaker.  Christ's  teachings,  if  lived  rightly, 
can  provide  what  we  want  most — faith  in  the  fatherhood  of 
God ;  a  glimpse  of  the  higher  life  which  can  never  be  forgotten ; 
a  quiet  resignation  that  gives  us  pleasant  dreams  when  we  have 
said  farewell;  a  heart  of  gladness  w'hen  we  think  of  the  valley 
of  shadows;  and  wherever  we  wander  or  whatever  we  do,  how- 
ever distant  we  may  be  from  Him,  we  must  come  to  Him,  just 
as  the  hungry  man  searches  for  food  or  the  thirsty  man  for  the 
cool  spring.  The  world  is  taking  long  strides  in  that  direction 
now.  Heretofore,  Christ  has  been  a  creed,  but  He  is  becoming 
to  us  the  secret  of  a  higher  life.  The  bell  in  the  watch  tower 
of  human  needs  is  calling  us.  "  Greater  things  than  these 
shall  ye  do  " ;  then  God  is  with  us,  and  we  can  draw  on  His  holy 
messengers  whom  He  sends  to  us  amid  the  struggles  of  life. 
We  can  conquer  all  things,  bring  the  higher  life  to  our  very 
doors,  live  contentedly,  nobly — because  our  angel  loved  ones 
are  permitted  to  walk  by  our  side.  The  {Philosophy  of  the  God 
Power  will  make  us  spiritually  hale  and  hearty,  our  pulse  beat- 
ing in  accord  with  the  laws  of  the  universe,  and  our  eyes  filled 
with  the  light  of  another  world. 


46o  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  And  so  it  is  written,  the  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living 
soul;  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit."  i  Cor. 
XV,  45. 

PERFECT   TRUST. 

Thou  hast  made  known  to  me  the  ways  of  life;  Thou  shdt 
make  me  full  of  joy  with  Thy  countenance.    The  Acts  II,  28. 

Rake  away  the  cold  ashes  of  conceit ;  put  your  faith  in  the 
Holy  God  Power  and  love.  Seek  His  will  and  do  it.  Then 
revelations  will  come  to  you.  You  will  be  happy,  gentle, 
kindly,  sunny — a  dhild  at  heart  and  a  giant  to  do  your  work. 
The  Christ  was  filled  with  God's  presence.  He  knew  nothing 
else ;  therefore  He  made  the  blind  to  see  and  the  lame  to  walk, 
and  raised  the  dead  to  life.  He  walked  in  light  even  when  it 
was  dark,  for  the  light  was  within.  The  God  Power  was  never 
farther  off  than  arm's  length,  and  was  subject  to  his  command. 
The  Christ  Medium  was  our  brother^  and  shows  us  what  we 
may  become  when  we  have  a  like  faith ;  and  that  doctrine  will 
be  the  salvation  when  you  come  to  understand  it.  It  belongs 
to  a  higher  level  of  spiritual  excellence  that  we  have  not  y^t 
reached,  but  we  are  slowly  climbing  in  that  direction. 

Perfect  trust  places  the  God  Power  at  our  disposal.  Do 
your  duty  and  bend  your  shoulders  to  the  grief  of  the  present 
moment  in  the  sweet  consciousness  that  the  angels  of  heaven 
are  helping  you ;  and  when  other  sorrows  come  those  helping 
hands  will  still  be  there. 

The  amount  of  useless  worry  in  the  world  is  enough  to 
make  the  angels  discouraged.  To  worry  over  little  things 
which  are  of  no  account  is  to  spend  one's  time  with  a  danger- 
ous fever.  It  is  an  entirely  abnormal  condition,  and  we  ought 
to  make  a  special  effort  to  suppress  it.  It  abolishes  peace, 
contentment  and  hopefulness  and  produces  a  blind  disorder 
which  is  very  much  like  chaos.  The  best  rule  to  follow  is  to 
make  the  best  of  things,  and  if  they  are  wrong,  to  right  them 
so  far  as  lies  in  our  power ;  but  to  meet  them,  if  they  cannot  be 
righted,  with  a  quiet  resignation  wliich  gets  all  the  good  there 
is  in  life,  and  even  forces  the  bad  to  yield  some  happy  results. 


Faith  and  Power.  461 

These  things  are  to  be  considered:  if  we  can  command  our 
tempers ;  if  we  can  kill  the  habit  of  fault  finding ;  and  if  we  can 
choke  down  the  tendency  to  worry,  we  shall  have  taken  a  long 
stride  toward  heaven.  We  shall  be  in  a  frame  of  mind  which 
induces  physical  as  well  as  spiritual  health,  and  we  shall  be  in 
possession  of  that  kind  of  religion  which  made  the  life  of  Christ 
the  wonder  of  all  generations. 

There  ought  to  be  one  room  in  each  house  set  apart  for 
meditation.  Sit  there  for  a  short  time  each  day.  The  angels 
will  soon  find  you  out  and  will  keep  you  company.  Your  only 
outlook  will  be  an  upward  one.  You  will  soon  find  out  that 
the  world  has  been  shut  out  with  all  its  cares  and  troubles; 
and  the  quiet  reflection  which  the  place  suggests  will  lead  you 
to  wisdom  and  strength.  Nothing  is  better  or  more  healthful 
than  that  kind  of  self-communion  with  God  and  with  your 
larger  self. 

When  the  Christ  was  weary  he  retired  to  some  lonely  spot. 
The  world  pressed  too  heavily  on  his  heart  and  he  found  relief 
in  solitude.  We  may  well  follow  such  an  example,  and  in 
sweet  intercourse  with  heavenly  things  find  strength  to  bear 
the  ills  which  have  fallen  to  our  lot.  To  be  alone  is  not  to  be 
lonely,  for  you  have  the  best  of  company,  even  that  of  Christ 
and  the  holy  angels — your  own  loved  ones. 

"  And  as  he  prayed,  the  fashion  of  his  countenance  was 
altered,  and  his  raiment  was  white  and  glistening. 

"  And  behold,  there  talked  with  him  two  men,  which  were 
Moses  and  Elias;  w'ho  appeared  in  glory."  St.  Luke  IX,  29, 
30,  31. 

BE   COURAGEOUS. 

He  that  overcometh  shall  inherit  all  things:  and  I  will  he  his 
God  and  he  shall  he  My  son.    Revelations  XXI,  7. 

Everyone  has  a  right  to  his  own  religion  if  he  lives  up  to  it. 
Yet  I  do  not  like  some  of  the  creeds  which  are  professed  in 
the  churches  because  they  contain  such  a  poor  opinion  of  human 
nature.  After  a  long  experience  with  my  own  human  nature 
and  that  of  my  friends  I  find  myself  disinclined  to  be  ashamed 


462  Book  of  Knowledge. 

of  it.  On  the  contrary  I  am  constantly  astonished  at  the 
character  of  my  own  longings  and  aspirations,  and  at  the 
heroic  endurance  of  men  and  women  whom  I  know  to  be 
battling  with  adverse  circumstances.  Moreover,  I  am  sure 
that  not  a  tithe  of  the  heroism  in  the  world  is  known  to  any 
one  except  God  and  the  holy  angels.  When  we  get  across  the 
river  and  see  the  souls  of  our  neighbors,  with  something  more 
than  the  clearness  which  a  Roentgen  ray  can  afford,  we  shall 
be  amazed  at  the  discoveries  that  will  thrust  themselves  upon 
us.  We  shall  learn  that  there  is  a  good  deal  more  moral  cour- 
age among  our  acquaintances  than  we  have  credited  them 
with.  That  is  one  of  the  surprises  that  awaits  us  in  heaven. 
I  know  that  divine  possibilities  are  hidden  in  the  average  man 
and  woman,  hidden  now,  and  perhaps  with  some  to  remain  in 
hiding  until  they  reach  the  higher  life. 

If  there  is  heroism  on  the  battlefield,  there  is  equal  heroism 
in  many  a  home  which  the  world  knows  nothing  about,  and 
which  only  God  and  the  angels  see.  There  are  fathers  who 
grandly  struggle  against  the  tide  of  fate  and  never  lisp  the 
secret  of  their  despair,  whose  young  dreams  have  all  faded,  but 
who  patiently  bear  their  allotted  burden  with  what  tries  to  be 
resignation.  There  are  noble  women  whose  domestic  afflic- 
tions of  all  sorts  would  crush  them  if  they  were  not  heroines, 
who  silently  suflfer  and  make  the  best  of  their  disappointed 
years.  They  sing  in  the  minor  key,  but  still  they  sing,  and  so 
the  world  thinks  them  happy  when  they  are  only  brave.  My 
soul  goes  out  to  them  all,  and  there  are  many  of  them.  I  know 
there  is  a  spark  of  the  God-head  in  every  one,  and  that  it  may 
be  fanned  into  a  flame  that  will  fill  the  whole  of  Hfe  with  gen- 
eral heat  and  enthusiasm.  There  are  nobler  elements  in  us 
than  we  have  ever  dreamed  of.  Whatever  there  is  to  do  we 
can  do  it ;  whatever  there  is  to  bear  we  can  bear  it.  Borrowing 
our  strength  from  the  Almighty  we  can  conquer  our  circum- 
stances. Trusting  in  Him  we  can  also  trust  in  ourselves. 
Life  will  be  filled  with  good  cheer  when  we  know  that  we  are 
in  the  hands  of  God  and  our  dear  angels — our  loved  ones — and 
that  nothing  can  happen  to  us  that  we  cannot  use  for  the  for- 
mation of  a  character  which  will  be  worthy  of  immortahty. 


Faith  and  Power,  463 

"  By  this  time  all  men  know  that  ye  are  My  disciples,  if  ye 
have  love  one  to  another."    St.  John  XIII,  35. 


HIGHER   THOUGHTS. 

But  we  desire  to  hear  of  thee  what  thou  thinkest.  Acts 
XXVIII,  22. 

We  sometimes  speak  of  certain  things  as  the  "  necessaries 
of  life,"  and  we  pass  laws  to  prevent  their  monopoly  by  any 
scheming  financier.  We  universally  recognize  their  relation 
to  the  welfare  of  society  and  try  to  keep  them  in  abundance 
within  reach  of  all.  They  insure  health,  strength  and  happi- 
ness. So  carefully  do  we  guard  this  public  policy  that  any  in- 
fringement of  it  is  regarded  as  a  crime.  The  world  is  young 
as  yet  and  hardly  recognizes  the  fact  that  there  are  "  neces- 
saries of  life  "  for  the  soul  as  well  as  for  the  body.  As  food 
develops  the  physical  system,  so  ideas  develop  the  spirit  of 
man.  It  is  no  more  important  that  you  should  lay  in  a  stock 
of  one  than  of  the  other.  Men  live  on  their  ideas  quite  as 
much  as  they  do  on  their  bread;  as  there  is  a  difference  in 
food,  so  there  is  a  difference  in  thoughts.  Some  kinds  of  food 
are  so  easily  assimilated  that  the  result  is  physical  cheerfulness 
and  endurance;  other  kinds  produce  weakness  and  a  tendency 
to  disease;  the  normal  action  of  the  digestive  organs  is  inter- 
fered with,  and  the  result  is  depression  and  inability  to  cope 
with  the  difficulties  which  lie  in  every  one's  path,  and  must  be 
removed  if  we  are  to  pursue  our  way  to  success  in  life. 

All  this  is  equally  true  of  ideas.  Some  are  exhilarating, 
stimulating  in  their  nature,  upHfting,  making  us  optimistic, 
hopeful,  ready  for  any  fortune  that  may  befall.  They  nourish 
the  soul,  make  it  athletic,  take  away  all  dread  of  the  future, 
give  us  what  the  racer  has  who  feels  sure  that  he  is  going  to 
win  the  prize,  and  whose  anticipation  of  victory  adds  to  the 
speed  of  his  feet.  Tell  me  frankly  what  your  controlling 
thought  is,  what  kind  of  thinking  you  do  every  day,  and  I  will 
tell  you  what  kind  of  a  man  you  are,  whether  you  are  making 
friends  or  enemies,  how  you  will  meet  the  emergencies  which 


464  Book  of  Knowledge. 

come  into  all  human  experiences,  whether  affliction  will  em- 
bitter you  or  mature,  sweeten  and  ripen  you.  We  are  what 
we  think.  Your  chief  thoug'ht  is  as  truly  the  master  of  your 
destiny  as  the  captain  is  master  of  the  vessel  which  he  guides 
through  storm  and  drifting  currents.  Your  happiness  depends 
not  half  as  much  on  your  surroundings  as  on  yourself.  Yet 
some  natures,  I  know,  depend  on  their  surroundings.  It  is 
possible  to  have  nothing  and  yet  to  have  all,  and  possible  to 
have  all  and  yet  very  little.  A  cheerful  heart  can  lighten  the 
heaviest  burden  and  make  it  comparatively  easy  to  bear.  If 
you  would  discover  what  a  man's  life  is  worth,  either  to  him- 
self or  to  others,  you  need  not  look  at  his  bank  account,  for 
that  is  no  sure  indication.  If  you  can  find  out  what  thoughts 
he  cherishes,  you  will  learn  the  whole  story. 

It  is  also  true  that  some  ideas  produce  spiritual  depression. 
There  is  a  dyspepsia  of  the  soul  as  well  as  of  the  body.  Your 
thoughts  may  force  you  into  a  perfect  purgatory  and  keep  you 
there  until  you  change  your  mental  outlook.  The  apple  seed 
never  grows  to  become  a  pear  tree,  and  the  low  thought  never 
results  in  a  high  life.  The  level  of  your  thinking  decides  the 
level  of  your  living,  because  one  is  cause  and  the  other  efifect. 
Love,  and  you  will  be  loved ;  hate,  and  you  will  be  hated.  Your 
attitude  toward  others  is  the  sure  indication  of  their  attitude 
toward  you,  and  the  way  in  which  you  bear  yourself  toward  the 
world  is  the  product  of  your  conviction  as  to  your  duty  to  be 
kind  and  helpful,  or  your  determination  to  selfishly  get  all  you 
can,  at  whatever  cost  to  others. 

At  this  point  I  open  the  New  Testament  and  find  there  a 
philosophy  of  life  which  startles  and  amazes  me.  We  are  told 
that  the  good  God  has  a  regard  for  our  welfare;  that  a  place 
has  been  provided  for  a  continuance  of  our  labors  after  this 
short  life  has  ended ;  that  Jacob's  ladder  still  stands ;  and  angels 
are  constantly  ascending  and  descending;  that  human  experi- 
ence of  all  sorts  is  spiritual  education;  that  unseen  hands  are 
always  stretched  out  for  our  protection  and  guidance,  and  that 
nothing  can  happen  to  us  which  may  not  be  used  as  a  stepping 
stone  to  higher  things. 

One  trembles  with  gratitude  in  the  presence  of  such  elevat- 


Faith  and  Power.  465 

ing  thoughts.  A  vista  is  opened  which  almost  wearies  the 
eyes  by  the  radiance  of  the  path  we  are  called  upon  to  tread. 
That  path  leads  through  showers  of  tears ;  through  the  storms 
and  tempests  of  affliction;  through  loneliness  and  struggle; 
through  tasks  which  will  tax  our  strength  to  the  utmost;  and 
through  bereavements  which  will  wring  the  heart  to  the  point 
of  breaking.  All  these,  for  some  mysterious  reason,  are  the 
"  necessaries  of  life,"  and  every  one  who  has  lived  in  the  mortal 
has  tasted  the  bitter  and  the  sweet. 

"  While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the 
things  which  are  not  seen :  for  the  things  that  are  seen  are 
temporal;  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal." 
2  Cor.  IV,  18. 


IN  THE  IMAGE  OF  GOD. 
Let  us  make  man  after  our  likeness.    Genesis  I,  26. 

In  its  essence  the  soul  is  like  its  Creator.  The  best  part  of 
us  is  what  God  has  breathed  into  us,  and  the  worst  part  is  the 
result  of  our  conceit,  that  we  know  better  than  He  what  to 
work  for  and  how  to  work  for  it.  It  may  be  a  bold  figure  of 
speech  which  declares  that  we  are  made  in  His  image,  and  yet 
the  maker  is  to  be  found  in  whatever  he  makes.  By  means  of 
a  focusing  glass  you  can  light  your  candle  with  the  gathered 
rays  of  the  sun.  The  burning  candle  is  not  the  sun,  and  it 
would  be  foolish  to  compare  the  two,  and  yet  the  candle  can 
fill  a  room  with  light  even  as  the  sun  fills  the  universe. 

The  finite  and  the  infinite,  the  bounded  and  the  boundless, 
the  soul  and  God  are  related  to  each  other  in  a  very  mysterious 
way.  If  God  is  in  me,  then  He  and  I  must  work  together,  and 
I  must  believe  that  thereby,  and  in  no  other  way,  the  greatest 
good  will  come  to  me.  When  I  analyze  myself  I  learn  that  I 
am  so  made  that  all  the  varied  experiences  of  life,  ranging  from 
the  bHss  of  the  upper  register  to  the  tears  and  struggles  of  the 
lower  are  part  of  a  great  plan  by  which  I  am  to  be  educated, 
developed  and  changed  from  my  present  crudity  into  a  possible 
perfection.     If,  then,  I  can  place  myself  on  the  right  point  of 


466  Book  of  Knowledge. 

view,  I  can  no  more  help  governing  my  life  by  the  highest 
moral  and  spiritual  principle  than  I  can  help  drinking  at  a 
fountain  when  I  am  thirsty.  To  govern  my  life  in  this  way  is 
perfectly  natural,  and  if,  through  any  motive  I  govern  it  in  any 
other  way,  I  not  only  injure  myself,  but  am  acting  along  unnat- 
ural lines  and  using  unnatural  methods.  I  am  out  of  harmony 
with  God,  and  equally  out  of  harmony  with  my  best  interests. 

Spiritualism  is  not  a  mystery,  it  is  simply  common  sense. 
I  am  not  at  all  concerned  with  your  dogmas ;  cherish  them  or 
reject  them  as  you  please.  The  Creator  has  no  regard  for 
such  things.  The  member  of  an  orchestra  may  have  notions 
of  his  own  about  the  strings  of  his  instrument;  he  and  I  may 
agree  or  we  may  not ;  it  is  a  matter  of  no  sort  of  consequence. 
But  when  he  takes  his  place  on  the  platform  it  is  all-important 
that  his  instrument  should  be  in  tune,  and  that  he  should  cor- 
rectly play  the  score  that  is  set  before  him. 

What,  then,  is  evil,  and  how  does  it  originate?  Examine 
yourself  critically  and  you  will  find  an  easy  answer.  We  are 
told  that  men  are  totally  depraved,  but  nobody  believes  it.  We 
all  know  better  than  that.  Not  total  depravity,  but  total  mis- 
understanding, is  the  root  of  our  difficulty.  If  we  saw  things 
as  they  are,  if  we  had  a  full  and  complete  appreciation  of  the 
inevitable  effects  of  wrong-doing,  we  could  never  be  persuaded 
to  do  wrong  any  more  than  we  could  be  persuaded  to  thrust 
our  hand  into  the  fire.  No  man  wants  to  hurt  himself,  and  if 
he  makes  a  mistake  as  to  the  proper  means  of  getting  the 
benefit  he  reaps  a  harvest  of  sorrow  and  disappointment.  But, 
dear  readers,  look  to  the  Creator  and  to  the  loved  ones  in 
the  beyond — ask  from  your  soul  to  be  assisted.  We  all  know 
that  out  of  evil  comes  good,  so  let  us  all  ask  for  guidance,  not 
from  the  lips  but  from  the  soul. 

"  John  answered  and  said,  '  A  man  can  receive  nothing  ex- 
cept it  be  given  him  from  heaven.' "    St.  John  III,  27. 


Faith  and  Power.  467 


WHAT  WOULD  YOU  ASK? 

Providing  for  honest  things,  not  only  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
but  also  in  the  sight  of  men.    2  Cor.  VIII,  21. 

Suppose  you  were  the  happy  possessor  of  an  Aladdin  Lamp 
and  that  by  rubbing  it,  as  did  the  son  of  the  Chinese  widow, 
you  could  command  the  services  of  a  dozen  genii  who  would 
use  their  power  to  gratify  your  wishes,  what  would  you  ask 
for?  What  do  you  think  is  the  most  desirable  thing  in  Hfe? 
For  that,  of  course,  is  what  you  would  Hke  to  have.  Take  a 
broad  view  of  human  possibilities,  look  far  and  wide,  look  high 
and  deep ;  what  is  there  in  this  strange  and  contradictory  world 
with  its  symphonies  and  its  jangles  that  seems  most  desirable 
as  a  personal  possession?  If  you  could  not  have  all  things, 
and  so  offset  the  evil  of  one  with  the  good  of  another,  but 
might  choose  a  single  gift,  what  would  it  be?  Wealth,  for  in- 
stance? Its  purchasing  power  is  marvellous.  The  love  of 
money  is  not  merely  the  root  of  all  evil;  it  is  also  the  founda- 
tion of  nearly  all  that  is  noble  in  society.  People  who  have 
no  desire  to  acquire  a  fortune  are  not  far  removed  from  bar- 
barism. Money  is  the  providential  impulse  of  human  progress. 
The  scorn  for  money  and  money-making  which  is  heard  in 
some  quarters  seems  to  me  to  be  not  only  unwise,  but  wholly 
thoughtless,  for  the  world  would  hardly  be  worth  living  in 
were  it  not  for  what  wealth  will  buy  and  what  it  can  do.  Our 
ships  sail  to  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  furnish  us  with 
the  products  of  every  cHme.  Our  railroads  span  the  conti- 
nents and  bring  distant  provinces  into  our  immediate  neighbor- 
hood. The  telephone  and  the  telegraph  make  everybody 
accessible  and  dispense  with  worry  and  delay;  our  public 
schools  are  training  places  for  our  children ;  our  public  libraries 
are  storehouses  of  intellectual  food  for  the  masses ;  sanitariums 
and  asylums  are  retreats  for  the  unfortunate.  It  is  the 
struggle  for  wealth  which  rouses  the  activities  of  the  com- 
munity and  develops  that  inventive  genius  which  surrounds  us 
with  increasing  comforts  and  conveniences.  What  I  am  just 
now  interested  in,  however,  is  not  money  getting  in  its  com- 


468  Book  of  Knowledge. 

mercial,  but  in  its  individual  aspect.  What  it  does  for  the 
whole  is  one  thing;  what  it  does  for  the  unit  is  quite  another. 
When  it  is  a  healthy  exercise  it  is  a  blessing,  but  when  it  be- 
comes a  disease  it  is  a  curse,  because  it  is  fatal  to  the  noble 
qualities  of  character.  To  get  money  simply  to  live  on  is  very 
different  from  getting  it  in  order  to  satisfy  our  greed,  for  greed 
is  close  to  animalism.  I  know  nothing  that  is  so  hurtful  to  a 
young  man  as  a  large  inheritance.  It  does  not  tend  to  make 
him  great  and  generous,  but  to  make  him  small.  I  have  noticed 
that  when  a  man  is  determined  to  be  rich  at  any  cost  he  is  a 
very  poor  and  uncompanionable  sort  of  creature.  If  a  man 
has  enough  to  live  on  he  has  no  need  for  more,  and  if  he  wants 
more  it  narrows  and  shrinks  his  soul.  There  are  so  many 
things  that  no  amount  of  money  can  buy.  I  want  fidelity  in 
friendship;  I  want  purity  in  love;  I  want  happiness  and  har- 
mony in  the  home.  These  things  I  must  not  seek  in  a  gold 
mine,  for  they  are  not  there.  When  death  comes,  even  the 
monarch  is  only  a  common  man.  His  jeweled  crown,  his 
stately  palaces,  his  sovereignty  which  runs  to  the  limit  of  his 
kingdom,  count  for  absolutely  nothing,  and  at  the  bedside  of 
his  beloved  he  is  no  better  than  a  peasant.  Golconda  cannot 
purchase  resignation  or  contentment  for  any  living  soul.  Tears 
are  tears  and  sobs  are  sobs  both  in  the  palace  and  the  hovel. 
I  love  money,  but  if  I  can  choose  only  one  blessing  I  will  not 
choose  that.  It  is  desirable,  beyond  doubt,  but  not  most  desir- 
able. I  must  leave  it  behind  when  my  friends  close  my  eyes 
in  sleep,  and  I  am  not  foolish  enough  to  spend  my  life  in  get- 
ting what  will  slip  from  my  grasp  at  the  last  moment.  I  am 
going  to  heaven,  and  as  there  is  no  money  there  I  must  try  to 
get  something  w'hich  I  can  take  with  me.  I  say,  therefore, 
that  a  man's  character,  his  qualities,  are  the  real  if  not  the  only 
foundation  of  happiness.  It  is  better  to  be  strong  in  your 
heart  than  in  your  purse.  An  upright  man  can  walk  through 
the  darkness  of  the  churchyard  without  fear  or  trembling. 
Just  before  I  slumber  at  the  last  I  would  rather  hear  an  angel's 
voice  bidding  me  welcome  than  be  told  that  I  should  die  a 
millionaire.  In  the  last  analysis,  if  you  sift  the  matter  to  the 
bottom,  the  only  man  of  worth  is  the  man  of  good  deeds  and 


Faith  and  Power.  469 

lofty  faith.  You  can  exaggerate  the  value  of  your  bank  ac- 
count, but  not  the  value  of  your  trust  in  God. 

If  I  saw  one  standing  on  the  threshold  of  life  and  eager 
for  the  struggle,  I  should  say  to  him,  money  is  good,  but  God 
is  better.  Work  hardest  for  what  is  noblest.  Not  greed,  but 
faith,  will  stand  you  in  good  stead  by  and  by.  Make  your  life 
sweet  with  good  deeds  and  pure  thouglits.  Set  your  days  to 
the  music  of  righteousness.  Be  a  man,  and  when  you  reach 
the  home  beyond  you  can  look  up  and  say,  "  I  did  my  very 
best." 

"  For  the  invisible  things  of  him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that 
are  made,  even  His  temporal  power  and  God-head :  so  that  they 
are  without  excuse."     Romans  I,  20. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WHO  ARE  THE  CHRISTIANS? 

Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you,  St. 
John  XV,  14. 

There  have  been  many  definitions  of  the  word  "  Christian." 
Some  of  them  have  puzzled  us,  and  some  have  seemed  to  verge 
on  the  ludicrous;  others  have  been  purely  theological — ^as,  for 
instance,  that  one  must  take  his  beHef  from  this,  that,  or  the 
other  church  formula — w^hilst  still  others  have  been  so  narrow 
and  lean  and  meagre  that  one  felt  as  though  he  were  parting 
with  his  self-respect  in  accepting  them.  When  in  doubt  on  a 
subject  of  this  kind,  the  safest  course  is  to  listen  to  no  one  but 
the  Master.  The  New  Testament  is  a  very  much  broader  book 
than  the  average  man  thinks  it.  The  Christ  is  a  totally  differ- 
ent personality  from  the  general  conception  of  Him,  so  much 
larger — more  human,  more  divine,  more  everything — that  the 
attempt  to  confine  Him  within  the  limits  of  any  theological 
statements  reminds  us  of  a  babe  in  swaddling  clothes  trying  to 
wrestle  with  a  giant.  Neither  the  word  "  God  "  nor  the  word 
"  Christ "  has  ever  yet  been  defined  without  misrepresenting 
both  the  one  and  the  other.  But  if  we  sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and,  shutting  out  all  else,  listen  simply  to  that  one  marvellous 
voice,  we  can  hardly  help  being  strangely  startled.  Intellec- 
tually, He  not  merely  puzzles  us  but  convinces  us  that  He  had 
a  profounder  knowledge  of  spiritual  laws  than  we  ever  dreamed 
of.  I  know  of  nothing  more  stimulating,  more  exhilarating, 
more  encouraging  than  to  ponder,  either  separately  or  in 
groups,  the  statements  that  fell  from  His  lips.  You  open  your 
eyes  in  absolute  wonder;  and  though  at  first  you  are  over- 
whelmed with  incredulity,  you  come  in  good  time  to  feel  that 
your  poor  little  philosophy  is  so  remote  from  His  grand  and 
uplifting  revelations  that  you  are  like  one  who  twangs  a  single 


Who  are  the  Christians?  471 

string  of  an  untuned  harp  while  He  sways  the  whole  magnifi- 
cent orchestra  that  plays  the  symphony  of  human  life. 

Too  much  theology  spoils  our  spiritual  digestion,  for  Chris- 
tianity is  a  spirit,  an  attitude  toward  God — a  mysterious  and 
glorious  something  which  is  omnipotent  but  beyond  the  reach 
of  exact  expression.  Let  me  take  a  single  example  out  of  a 
possible  thousand.  We  think  of  Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of 
our  souls.  That  is  true ;  but  He  was  also  the  Redeemer  of  our 
bodies.  He  evidently  believed  in  sturdy  health  as  well  as  in 
sturdy  morality.  He  did  not  approve  of  a  sick  world,  and 
enunciated  principles  which,  if  strictly  followed,  would  make 
the  whole  world  well.  We  all  long  for  health,  but  seek  it 
blindly.  He  intimated  that  strong  faith  will  ultimately  result 
in  producing  a  strong  physical  system;  that  if  we  were  what 
God  intended  us  to  be  in  soul  we  should  be  what  we  would  like 
to  be  in  body. 

When  He  put  His  fingers  on  the  bHnd  man's  eyes  and 
restored  their  sight;  when  He  cured  one  stricken  with  the 
palsy;  when  by  a  word  of  command  He  raised  the  dead;  the 
audience  were  wonder-struck.  They  were  ignorant  of  a  whole 
domain  of  law  with  which  He  was  well  acquainted.  They  were 
school  children  listening  to  a  teacher,  who  spoke  not  to  them 
only  but  to  the  farthest  generation  after  their  time.  When  His 
disciples  expressed  something  like  alarm,  He  told  them  that 
*'  greater  things  than  these  shall  ye  do,"  and  it  is  fair  to  say 
that  He  included  among  His  disciples  those  of  all  ages  and 
climes  who  followed  Him.  I  know  I  am  making  marvellous 
statements,  and  you  may  shrink  from  accepting  them,  but  the 
everlasting  truth  is  that  the  whole  world  is  slowly,  only  too 
slowly,  approaching  Him,  and  only  too  slowly  absorbing  the 
science  of  moral  and  physical  health  as  one  and  inseparable. 

Belief  in  God;  love  of  God;  faith  in  God,  covers  the  body 
and  spirit  alike.  If  the  world  were  wholly  good  it  would  be 
wholly  well.  The  machinery  of  muscles  and  nerves  is  second- 
ary while  the  soul  is  primary,  and  a  man's  religion,  if  it  is  gen- 
uine, vigorous,  simple  and  unchangeable,  will  tend  to  drive 
disease  into  the  backgroutid. 

The  true  Christian,  then,  is  the  man  who  is  working  along 


472  Book  of  Knowledge 

the  lines  which  Christ  laid  down.  No  matter  by  what  name  he 
is  called;  no  matter  under  what  roof  he  worships;  no  matter 
to  what  organ  peal  he  bows  in  humble  penitence  and  gratitude ; 
God  is  his  God  if  his  life  is  honest,  truthful,  loving,  charitable ; 
he  is  the  friend  of  Christ  and  Christ  is  his  friend.  It  seems  a 
hard  world  and  a  cold  world  in  which  we  live.  There  are  pangs 
and  tears  and  struggles;  but  the  struggles  shall  be  overcome, 
the  tears  shall  cease  to  flow,  the  pangs  shall  disappear  when 
man  can  come  to  adopt  the  philosophy  of  the  Christ  teachings 
and  live  according  to  its  requirements. 

You  cannot  make  good  music  with  an  instrument  until  you 
tune  it.  Christ  gives  you  the  pitch,  and  if  you  take  that  for 
your  keynote  you  will  make  music  in  your  heart  and  in  your 
life.  Bitterness  will  die  out,  and  resignation  will  gradually 
give  way  to  the  mastery  of  events.  We  do  not  yet  know  this 
Christ,  but  when  we  do  we  shall  be  transformed  and  trans- 
figured, and  it  will  be  only  a  glad  and  welcome  step  from  earth 
to  heaven. 

"  Continue  in  prayer  and  watch  in  the  same  with  thanks- 
giving."   Colossians  IV,  2. 

"  Withal  praying  also  for  us,  that  God  would  open  unto  us 
a  door  of  utterance,  to  speak  the  mystery  of  Christ."  Colos- 
sians IV,  3. 

THE  BEYOND. 

But  it  is  now  made  manifest  by  the  appearing  of  our  Saviour, 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  abolished  death  and  hath  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light.    2  Timothy  I,  10. 

I  had  a  serious  conversation  the  other  day  with  a  scientific 
man,  a  surgeon,  and  he  had  one  statement  which  is  so  remark- 
able that  I  would  like  to  speak  of  it  at  some  length.  He  had, 
of  course,  seen  many  men  in  their  last  earthly  moments,  and 
he  declared  that  what  he  called  philosophy,  which  includes  a 
doubt  or  denial  of  continued  existence,  would  enable  one  to  die 
as  comfortably  and  serenely  as  religion — at  least  that  was 
his  experience  and  observation.  He  did  not  know  anything 
about  Spiritualism. 


Who  are  the  Christians?  473 

I  can  easily  believe  that  under  certain  circumstances,  not 
knowing  the  spiritual  laws,  a  man  may  welcome  an  eternal 
sleep  as  preferable  to  the  life  which  has  furnished  him  nothing 
but  disappointment,  failure  and  suffering.  Such  a  man,  how- 
ever, is  in  an  abnormal  state  of  mind  and  is  not  a  fair  repre- 
sentative of  his  fellows.  I  can  also  conceive  of  one  who  is 
utterly  reckless,  and  who  lacks  a  full  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  a  soul,  meeting  death  with  a  grim  kind  of  courage,  without 
any  kind  of  hope  of  waking  up  after  he  falls  asleep.  He,  also, 
would  be  an  exception  to  the  general  rule. 

But  that  the  average  man,  living  an  average  life,  is  willing 
to  surrender  himself  to  utter  obliteration,  and  does  it  cheerfully 
and  without  a  pang,  is  to  me  quite  beyond  credibility.  I  am 
not,  myself,  made  in  any  such  mould,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  I  am,  in  this  respect,  different  from  others. 
That  the  thoughts  of  annihilation  can  exert  a  soothing  influ- 
ence on  a  dying  man  looks  like  a  contradiction  of  terms;  and 
that  the  religion  which  fills  one  with  hope  is  no  better  than  the 
so-called  philosophy  which  denies  all  hope,  is  so  wholly  un- 
reasonable that  I  open  my  eyes  in  wonder  when  the  assertion 
is  made. 

It  will  be  easily  granted,  even  by  atheism,  that  if  there  were 
another  life  the  certainty  of  it  would  give  us  good  cheer  in  the 
hour  of  our  departure.  I  am  sure,  therefore,  that  a  man  who 
has  faith  in  immortality,  other  things  being  equal,  can  meet  his 
fate  more  calmly,  can  say  farewell  less  regretfully  than  he  who 
says  good-night  with  the  feeling  that  the  night  is  to  last  for- 
ever. 

The  last  thought  is  copper,  the  first  is  golden;  and  if  it  be 
true  that  men  are  just  as  satisfied  with  copper  as  with  gold, 
then  I  have  read  the  world  wrong.  Stand  by  a  grave.  Life  is 
only  a  prologue  and  has  ended.  The  love  which  you  have 
given  has  snapped  like  an  overstrained  rope.  No  hope ;  noth- 
ing but  darkness.  Is  it  well  with  you,  my  brother  and  sister? 
Are  you  resigned?  Can  you  be  of  good  cheer?  The  last  note 
of  Hfe's  music  has  been  heard,  and  the  soul  that  uttered  it  has 
died  with  the  body.     That  is  one  picture. 

Listen  once  more.     Love  never  dies.    The  dear  one  is  in  a 


474  Book  of  Knowledge, 

better  land  and  awaits  your  coming.  Hearts  need  not  break 
at  separation,  because  the  hope  of  reunion  is  ever  present. 
Heaven  is  close  at  hand,  and  there  will  be  other  handclasps  in 
other  climes.  Now  it  is  indeed  well  with  you,  and  there  is  no 
bitterness  in  your  tears.  This  picture  is  better  than  the  other, 
and  it  is  a  true  picture. 

Some  of  us  are  getting  well  along  toward  the  autumn  of  life. 
The  first  frosts  have  already  come,  and  there  is  that  in  the  air 
presaging  the  approach  of  winter.  Some  of  our  heart's  best 
treasures  have  taken  their  journey  before  us,  but  our  love  for 
them  grows  warmer  and  kindlier,  as  the  swift  days,  like  the 
flight  of  birds,  go  by.  We  face  the  inevitable  and  ask  our- 
selves when  shall  we  go  on  our  journey.  We  must  be  very 
thoughtless  if  we  have  not  done  this  a  thousand  times  and 
received  some  sort  of  answer.  I  have  yet  to  find  the  man  who 
wouldn't  be  happier  and  better  if  he  had  more  of  Christ's  spirit 
in  his  life  and  heart.  I  have  perfect  faith  that  men  and  women 
can  reach  to  God's  higher  life  by  doing  "  unto  others  as  you 
would  have  them  do  unto  you."  Until  that  consummation  is 
reached,  my  observation  shows  me,  and  my  experience  with  my 
own  soul  proves  it,  that  an  estrangement  from  God  cannot 
produce  as  grand  results  as  a  secure  confidence  in  Him.  If  I 
am  sure  that  I  am  travelling  along  an  upward  road,  and  as  my 
outward  eye  grows  dim  my  inward  eye  will  see  the  home  which 
is  my  ultimate  destination,  a  home  in  which  I  shall  once  more 
see  my  beloved  ones  and  old  friends,  I  can  think  of  Death  with 
a  smile,  and  even  hold  out  my  hands  to  Him  in  welcome. 

But  "  if  the  end  is  the  end,"  if  they  are  all  gone  forever  and 
1  am  going  the  same  way,  I  face  events  in  a  different  state  of 
mind  and  wonder  sadly  why  I  have  lived  at  all.  The  brightest, 
holiest  and  most  inspiring  thing  under  the  sun  is  a  belief,  a 
knowledge,  that  we  shall  wake  up  after  what  we  call  death.  It 
gives  us  courage,  broadens  our  shoulders,  and  makes  us  rich 
in  anticipation.  The  other  life  is  better  than  this,  and  when 
there  we  shall  complete  the  work  which  we  leave  unfinished,  as 
the  shadows  fall  on  our  short  and  troubled  earthly  career. 

"  But  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the 
hidden  wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  world  unto  our 
glory."     I  Cor.  II,  7. 


Who  are  the  ChrtstfeutsM^*"*"^^  475 


WE   BELONG   TO   TWO   WORLDS. 

The  world  passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof.  He  that  doeth 
the  will  of  God  abideth  forever,     i  John  II,  17. 

"  I  am  a  man  of  the  world ;  "  that  is  your  boast  but  it  is  really 
nothing  to  boast  of.  You  have  dissipated  one-half  of  your 
heritage,  or  perhaps  you  have  never  known  anything  but  the  lost 
half.  The  ideal  man  is  not  simply  a  man  of  the  world,  but  a  man 
of  two  worlds.  Until  he  recognizes  that  fact  and  governs  him- 
self accordingly,  he  cannot  sing  his  song  with  a  clear  voice  or  do 
his  own  soul  justice.  A  genuine  life  must  have  two  worlds  in 
view  all  the  time.  This  lower  world  is  man's  field  of  action,  in 
which  he  shows  his  mettle,  and  in  which  he  not  only  forms  his 
character,  just  as  a  boy  learns  his  lesson  at  school,  but  adds  to 
the  aggregate  strength  or  weakness  of  his  fellows.  If  he  is  a 
blaze,  others  will  light  their  candles  at  his  fire.  If  he  is  merely 
cold  ashes,  they  will  blow  into  people's  eyes  and  so  blind  them 
that  they  cannot  see  the  truth. 

The  other  world  is  a  reservoir  from  which  he  draws  his  daily 
inspiration,  patience  with  which  to  achieve  under  difficulties,  hope, 
cheerfulness,  spiritual  repose  and  resignation,  and  which  sweetens 
the  soul  which  otherwise  would  be  embittered. 

When  a  man  is  only  half  himself  he  is  satisfied  with  to-day, 
its  ambitions  and  pleasures.  When  he  is  his  whole  self  this 
world  is  too  narrow  for  his  soul  and  he  finds  happiness  in  the 
contemplation  of  another  sphere,  which  will  furnish  him  the 
opportunity  to  attain  his  manifest  destiny. 

It  seems  very  odd  to  hear  a  man  argue  that  he  is  under  no 
obligation  to  obey  a  God  whom  he  has  never  publicly  confessed. 
He  is  a  man  of  the  world,  neither  knows  nor  cares  anything  about 
religion  or  the  higher  existence ;  therefore  he  claims  the  right  to 
do  as  he  pleases. 

Now  it  is  a  man's  business  to  know  something  about  the  laws 
of  the  world  he  lives  in,  and  it  will  not  help  him  in  the  least  to 
shrug  his  shoulders  and  declare  he  does  not  believe  in  those  laws. 
The  stern  fact  is,  that  the  laws  will  act  whether  he  believes  in 
them  or  not.    They  are  quite  independent  of  anything  he  may  or 


476  .  Book  of  Knowledge. 

may  not  believe,  and  after  awhile  he  will  learn  that  it  is  very 
much  more  to  his  interest  to  know  what  they  are  and  give  strict 
heed  to  them  than  to  ignore  them  or  deny  their  existence.  He 
sees  this  in  regard  to  physical  law  and  is  very  careful  about 
breaking  it.  When  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  he  may 
deny  the  existence  of  gravitation,  but  he  will  not  take  the  leap 
and  thus  show  the  courage  of  his  convictions.  The  law  does  not 
care  a  jot  or  tittle  about  his  personal  theories.  It  will  do  its  work 
in  spite  of  his  arguments  and  he  will  certainly  suffer  the  con- 
sequences of  his  rashness. 

The  spiritual  law  is  equally  rigid,  though  it  acts  more  slowly. 
For  that  reason  some  men  are  deceived.  You  may  not  believe 
in  purity  of  body  but  still  the  revenges  of  time  are  awful.  You 
may  ignore  all  moral  principles ;  you  may  even  succeed  so  far  as 
to  make  a  fortune  based  on  evil  practices ;  but  when  you  investi- 
gate your  own  character,  if  you  ever  dare  to  do  so,  you  will  be 
forced  to  acknowledge  that  you  know  little  about  the  sweetest 
and  most  reposeful  and  joyous  part  of  life,  and  "  that  you  have 
been  feeding  on  "  the  husks  which  the  swine  did  eat." 

I  know  of  no  spectacle  more  painful  to  contemplate  than  that 
of  a  man  who  has  persistently  used  the  world  for  purposes  of 
self-gain,  ignoring  all  obligations  of  honesty,  charity,  generosity, 
and  then  in  his  old  age  sees  himself  just  as  he  is — dwarfed, 
twisted,  incapable  of  holy  emotions  or  high  inspiration;  a  poor 
miserable  creature,  who  has  lived  a  mistake  and  reached  a  period 
beyond  which  recovery  is  impossible,  so  far  as  this  life  is  con- 
cerned. For  such  a  man  to  see  himself  just  as  he  is,  to  measure 
his  own  exact  weight,  to  know  vividly  how  he  is  regarded  by  his 
fellow-men,  to  be  conscious  that  his  example,  as  bad  as  it  is  bril- 
liant, has  led  scores  astray,  that  must  be  a  doom  too  dreadful  for 
words  to  express.  I  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  hell,  but  that 
man  could  tell  me  of  more  horrors  than  I  have  ever  conceived. 

To  have  your  soul  take  you  in  hand  and  show  you  how  you 
have  abused  it,  to  have  some  angel  paint  the  picture  of  what  you 
might  have  been  and  then  force  you  by  divine  compulsion  to 
compare  it  with  what  you  really  are,  that  would  be  simply  awful. 
If  you  answer  the  charges  of  the  angel  by  saying  that  you  are  a 
man  of  the  world,  the  reply  would  be  forthcoming,  like  a  peal  of 


Who  are  the  Christians f  477 

thunder,  "  You  were  not  born  to  be  a  man  of  the  world,  but  a  man 
of  God."  If  you  know  enough  to  use  this  world,  you  should 
know  enough  to  use  it  in  such  a  way  that  if  there  is  any  other 
world,  you  will  be  fitted  to  enter  it  without  shame.  No:  there 
is  but  one  way  to  live  and  that  is  to  live  justly.  This  world  is 
large  and  wide,  but  there  is  not  a  spot  where  a  man  can  hide 
from  the  moral  consequences  of  dishonesty,  "  But  there  is  nothing 
covered  up  that  shall  not  be  revealed,  and  hid  that  shall  not  be 
known."    St.  Luke  XII,  2. 

A  noble  character  is  not  born;  it  is  made.  Even  on  the  low 
plane  of  pure  expediency  it  is  better  to  be  true  to  yourself  than 
to  be  false.  You  cannot  ignore  a  tornado,  you  must  protect  your- 
self against  it.  You  cannot  ignore  God  or  His  laws,  for  they  re- 
fuse to  be  ignored.  Spiritualism  is  only  another  word  for  common 
sense.  It  is  not  a  mystery ;  is  is  a  plain  and  simple  fact.  If  you 
live  grandly,  nobly,  justly;  if  you  can  look  the  world  in  the  face 
without  a  blush,  knowing  that  the  world  can  see  your  soul  and 
your  motives  as  well  as  your  actions,  you  have  that  kind  of  a 
religion  which  is  contained  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  it 
will  suffice  for  here  and  hereafter. 

"  And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with  enticing 
words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  spirit  and 
of  power."    I  Cor.  II,  4. 


A  NEW  FAITH. 

My  son,  attend  to  my  words:  for  they  are  life  unto  those 
that  and  them  and  health  to  all  their  Hesh.    Proverbs  IV,  20-22. 

There  is  one  thing  which  impresses  me  more  and  more, 
namely,  the  relations  between  our  frame  of  mind  and  our  bodily 
health.  Our  usefulness  in  the  world,  our  success  in  life,  and  the 
degree  of  happiness  we  enjoy  depend  very  much  more  on  what  is 
going  on  within  us  than  our  surroundings.  Not  how  much  money 
you  have,  but  what  you  habitually  think  about,  is  the  decisive 
factor  in  your  career. 

The  history  of  the  Church  furnishes  us  with  a  startling  illus- 
tration.    Theological  evolution  from  the  low  level  of  discour- 


478  Book  of  Knowledge. 

aging  dognia,  to  the  higher  level  of  inspiring  doctrine,  means  the 
development  of  a  larger  faith.  We  never  give  up  a  thought 
unless  we  have  something  better  to  take  its  place. 

The  world  is  not  moving  in  the  direction  of  agnosticism,  but 
of  wider  and  more  wholesome  truth.  A  backward  step  is  as  im- 
possible as  for  a  flood  tide  to  check  its  upward  flow.  Men  love 
the  truth  and  truth  they  must  and  will  have.  If  what  we  were 
taught  will  not  stand  the  test  of  our  great  knowledge  we  rever- 
ently lay  it  aside,  as  having  fulfilled  its  mission.  In  doing  this 
we  simply  prove  that  a  child  of  God  can  never  rest  until  he  has 
reached  God  Himself.  There  are  many  doctrines  in  which  our 
fathers  believed,  and  in  which  they  found  comfort,  but  we  can 
no  more  accept  them  than  we  can  wear  their  quaint  garments. 
We  crave  something  different  and  better.  We  have  more  light 
than  they  and  see  some  things  more  clearly.  They  were  right 
then,  but  not  right  in  our  day. 

Would  we  be  true  to  ourselves  if  we  insisted  on  continuing 
the  social  customs  of  the  last  century?  The  telephone  and  tele- 
graph, the  modern  modes  of  locomotion,  the  printing  press,  which 
rains  literature  on  every  corner  of  the  globe,  have  given  us  a 
new  outlook.  We  call  that  progress  and  any  attempt  to  revive 
the  past  by  reviling  the  present  would  meet  with  universal  pro- 
test. What  we  have  is  a  thousand  times  better  than  anything  our 
forefathers  enjoyed. 

Into  our  new  life  have  come  many  conveniences,  and  we  have  a 
divine  right  to  make  use  of  them,  even  though  their  use  involves 
a  surrender  of  old  methods.  The  world  is  larger  for  us  than  it 
was  for  our  fathers.  We  believe  more,  and  our  belief  is  stronger, 
but  it  is  different.  So  in  our  theology  the  final  truth  has  not  yet 
been  fully  reached.  And  it  is  a  thrilling  fact  that  our  larger 
vision  results  in  a  general  cheerfulness  and  hopefulness,  which 
effect  not  only  the  mind  but  the  body.  To  think  of  God,  for  ex- 
ample, as  a  stern  and  relentless  law-giver  who,  "  for  his  own 
pleasure,"  as  the  old  phrase  runs,  elects  some  to  endless  happiness 
and  others  to  endless  misery,  is  to  make  it  very  difficult  to  wor- 
ship him  with  love  instead  of  fear. 

There  is  no  exuberance  of  joy  in  such  a  thought  and  no 
grateful  spontaneity  of  action.     It  presents  a  religion  of  gloom 


Who  are  the  Christians f  479 

and  spiritual  despondency  is  the  natural  result.  When  we  read 
the  words  of  the  Christ  in  the  light  of  a  more  advanced  scholar- 
ship, however,  and  discover  that,  while  He  is  a  law-maker  and 
a  law-giver.  He  is,  more  than  all  and  above  all,  a  Father  who 
searches  for  the  lost  sheep  after  the  ninety  and  nine  have  been 
folded,  there  is  a  reaction  which  makes  Spiritualism  the  most  de- 
sirable thing  in  the  world.  The  whole  outlook  is  changed,  the 
sky  brightens,  living  is  a  delight,  and  even  dying  is  a  privilege. 
Such  a  discovery  sets  our  blood  tingling,  and  every  heart  beat  in 
peace,  confidence  and  love.  The  state  of  mind  in  which  we  know 
that  all  is  well,  since  the  Light  is  with  us,  is  a  physical  as  truly  as 
it  is  a  spiritual  remedy.  It  is  ozone,  it  is  oxygen,  invigorating 
and  health-providing. 

The  old  ideas  of  the  other  world  have  also  been  invaded  and 
conquered  by  the  new  revelation.  Death  was  once  a  monster  of 
such  frightful  mien  that  we  clung  to  life  in  utter  despair,  and 
heaven  was  such  an  artificial  and  unnatural  place  of  abode  that 
no  amount  of  faith  could  make  us  glad  to  go.  St.  Paul's  words 
were  ringing  in  the  air,  "  To  die  is  to  live,"  but  they  were  never 
heard,  or  if  heard  were  not  trusted.  We  parted  with  our  dear 
ones  and  it  seemed  like  an  eternal  farewell.  Our  hearts  broke, 
and  if  with  tearful  eyes  we  cried,  "  Thy  will  be  done,"  the  fact 
that  the  heart  was  broken  forced  us  to  clothe  ourselves  in 
deepest  black.  Think  of  black  as  a  symbol  of  a  glorious  resurrec- 
tion !  It  is  sacrilege ;  it  is  the  emblem  of  a  serious  misunderstand- 
ing. But  all  that  is  of  the  past.  The  sun  shines  now  as  never 
before.  We  have  climbed  to  the  truth  of  the  communication  be- 
tween the  two  worlds.  Our  whole  attitude  toward  the  future  is 
changed.  We  still  weep,  for  our  temporary  separation  is  sad, 
but  there  is  a  rainbow  in  the  sky,  which  tells  of  fair  weather  on 
the  morrow.  The  pilgrim  who  walked  by  our  side  has  been  sud- 
denly ordered  to  a  station,  which  we  shall  reach  by  and  by,  and 
when  we  arrive  those  loving  arms  will  be  about  us  once  more, 
and  the  severed  relations  will  be  renewed.  We  have  learned  to 
be  glad  that  the  struggle  for  him  is  over,  for  he  is  now  in  the 
restful  shadow  of  the  immortal  life,  to  which  we  also  are  hasten- 
ing. Such  thoughts  as  these  make  religion  a  boundless  joy. 
There  is  no  gloom,  no  fathomless  grief,  no  depressing  mystery  in 


480  Book  of  Knowledge. 

it.    If  we  have  hitherto  Hved  in  shadow,  we  should  rejoice  when 
the  sun  creeps  above  the  hill-tops  and  dissipates  the  darkness. 

That  kind  of  religion  has  its  effect  on  the  body,  also,  and  we 
learn  to  live  healthfully,  as  well  as  happily.  It  is  the  religion 
of  Christ,  and  we  shall  never  be  at  our  best  until  we  accept  it. 
"  For  ye  may  all  prophesy,  one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn,  and  all 
may  be  comforted."    i  Cor.  XIV,  31. 


MAKING  THE   BEST  OF  THINGS. 
Be  content  with  such  things  as  ye  have.    Hebrews  XIII,  5. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  any  one  is  perfectly  satisfied  with  his 
surroundings.  There  is  no  station  in  life  which  can  furnish  us 
with  contentment.  I  have  not  yet  seen  a  man  who  could  truth- 
fully say  he  would  not  in  some  respects  change  his  environment 
if  he  could,  under  the  conviction  that  if  it  were  changed  he  would 
be  a  better  developed,  a  stronger  and  happier  soul.  That  is  a  very 
startling  fact,  and  one  which  has  attached  itself  to  every  genera- 
tion since  the  first  created  being  opened  his  eyes  on  this  beautiful 
world,  or  listened  to  the  music  of  the  wind  as  it  used  the  branches 
of  the  trees  for  harp  strings.  Moreover,  I  judge  that  the  fact 
will  remain  one  of  the  chief  characteristics  of  human  nature, 
until  the  last  generation  enters  the  shadow  that  keeps  the  other 
world  from  view.  I  sometimes  wonder  what  kind  of  a  creature 
he  would  be  who  had  just  what  he  wanted,  and  all  he  wanted. 
Would  he  be  happy  or  would  he  be  miserable?  I  confess  I  am 
unable  to  answer  the  question.  The  condition  of  affairs  would 
be  so  different  from  anything  we  have  experienced  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  what  the  result  would  be. 

Even  when  I  think  of  heaven  I  cannot  understand  why  there 
should  not  be  longings  and  even  anxieties,  provided  there  is 
progress.  A  soul  that  has  nothing  more  to  attain,  which  has 
reached  the  end  of  its  tether,  is  to  me  inconceivable.  I  like  to 
think  of  the  other  life  as  the  continuance  of  this  life,  and  of  my- 
self as  stepping  from  narrow  to  large  opportunities  when  I  die, 
and  if  this  be  so  I  must  be  brave  and  strong  in  heaven  in  order 


Who  are  the  Christians?  481 

to  make  use  of  the  gifts  of  God  which  the  angels  will  lay  at  my 
feet. 

I  lay  down  this  principle,  therefore,  that  so  far  as  in  us  lies 
we  must  influence  our  environment  instead  of  allowing  it  to  in- 
fluence us,  just  as  a  bed  of  roses  throws  its  perfume  on  the  air. 

I  have  known  many  a  man  to  be  crushed  because  his  home 
was  not  all  it  should  have  been  and  many  a  woman  broken-hearted 
because  of  inharmony  in  the  household,  and  I  have  tried  to  dis- 
cover the  remedy.  Is  it  possible  to  endure  the  ills  of  life  in  such 
a  spirit  that  we  shall  not  be  harmed  by  them,  that  we  shall  even 
grow  better  and  purer  through  their  adverse  influence? 

If  this  is  God's  world  and  not  the  evil  one's,  and  if  there  is 
no  lack  of  wisdom  in  the  structure  of  the  soul,  we  ought  to  be 
able  to  hold  our  own  against  all  odds,  for  otherwise  our  life  is 
simply  a  cruelty,  and  our  chief  sorrow  is  that  we  were  born  into  it. 
Now  it  is  not  probable  that  any  change  can  be  made  in  your 
environment,  but  it  is  certainly  possible  so  to  alter  your  attitude 
toward  it,  that  you  will  learn  how  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and 
that  is  the  most  important  of  all  secrets.  If  you  worry  over  the  in- 
evitable and  the  unavoidable,  you  simply  waste  your  time  and  your 
energy  and  you  break  your  heart.  The  question  is  not  how  to 
get  rid  of  the  disagreeable,  but  how  to  become  independent  of  it, 
and  to  live  your  own  life  in  spite  of  it.  The  more  you  kick 
against  the  pricks  the  more  you  harm  yourself.  Sometimes  you 
can  climb  over  a  wall  when  you  cannot  knock  it  down.  If  you 
neither  climb  over  it  nor  knock  it  down,  stay  on  the  side  where 
you  are  and  see  if  you  can  make  a  garden  spot  of  it.  Enjoy  what 
you  can,  and  don't  allow  the  grinding  ills  of  life  to  disturb  you 
any  more  than  can  be  helped. 

All  this  means  that  you  are  to  depend  on  yourself  and  not  on 
your  surroundings  for  your  happiness.  If  you  can  get  any  com- 
fort from  outside,  enjoy  it  and  be  thankful,  but  you  must  find 
your  chief  joy  in  the  consciousness  that  you  are  doing  your  duty 
as  you  understand  it,  and  are  helping  others,  whenever  the  chance 
is  offered.  You  must  manufacture  your  heaven  in  the  workshop 
of  your  own  heart.  Take  what  comes  in  the  spirit  of  one  who 
feels  that  the  "  God  Power  "  is  with  you  and  gives  you  not  only 
a  full  measure  of  sympathy,  but  also  the  strength  to  endure 


48a  Book  of  Knowledge. 

calmly,  patiently  and  bravely.  That  state  of  mind  will  induce 
spiritual  and  also  physical  health. 

It  is  easy  for  me  to  tell  you  to  rise  above  the  jarring  inhar- 
monies  in  your  environment  and  to  live  in  your  own  thoughts 
and  purposes,  but  the  task  is  an  extremely  difficult  one,  I  know. 
At  the  same  time,  it  is  what  the  spiritual  laws  teach  us,  and  the 
angels  who  bring  us  good  cheer  till  we  reach  the  beyond.  The 
secret  of  living  well  is  to  live  in  peace,  and  to  live  in  peace  we 
must  have  peace  in  our  own  hearts.  It  is  what  we  give  to  others 
which  makes  us  happy,  rather  than  what  we  demand  from  them. 
In  a  word,  life  is  not  worth  living,  unless  we  ourselves  make  it  so. 

"  Watch  and  pray  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation :  the  spirit 
indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak."    St.  Matthew  XXVI,  41. 


GUARD  YOUR  THOUGHTS. 
What  thinkest  thou,  Simon  f    Matthew  XVII,  25. 

If  thoughts  are  forces,  then  we  must  select  them  with  great 
care.  Our  thoughts  are  to  our  lives  what  steam  is  to  the  engine. 
If  the  steam  is  under  intelligent  control,  the  hum  of  the  manu- 
factory will  be  like  agreeable  music  and  the  machinery  will 
accomplish  a  definite  and  desirable  purpose.  On  the  contrary, 
if  the  steam  is  not  properly  harnessed,  there  is  sure  to  be  a  dis- 
aster sooner  or  later. 

The  way  a  man  thinks  decides  the  way  he  lives.  It  is  as 
impossible  for  pure  thoughts  to  produce  an  impure  life,  as  for 
vinegar  to  resemble  honey  to  the  taste.  A  thief  cannot  enjoy 
a  spiritual  religion  any  more  than  an  honest  man  can  enjoy 
burglary.  In  the  long  run  a  man  will  live  as  he  thinks.  Give  me 
the  thoughts  that  you  cherish  most  kindly  and  it  is  like  giving 
me  the  minor  and  major  premises  of  a  proposition — the  con- 
clusion is  logically  inevitable.  Those  thoughts  are  as  certain  to 
make  or  unmake  you  before  your  sun  goes  down  as  an  effect  is 
certain  to  follow  a  cause.  Give  me  the  power  to  sow  what 
thoughts  I  please  in  your  mind  and  you  put  into  my  hands  your 
destiny  here  and  hereafter.  Examine  yourself  critically  and  you 
will  discover  that  your  moral  attitude  exactly  accords  with  the 


Who  are  the  Christians  f  483 

kind  of  thoughts  you  entertain.  This  is  an  appalling  fact  of  psy- 
chological science,  and  the  action  of  the  law  is  as  inexorable  as 
the  law  of  gravitation.  No  man  can  think  high  and  live  low,  or 
think  low  and  live  high. 

A  strong  emotion,  sudden  fear,  for  example,  will  send  the 
blood  through  the  body  like  water  in  a  mill  race.  It  controls  the 
body  as  perfectly  as  a  giant  handles  a  child.  Even  the  physical 
features  take  on  a  new  expression,  and  the  fact  of  inward  terror 
is  made  visible  in  the  face.  The  body  is  a  mere  puppet  which  the 
inner  man  governs  at  will  and  it  is  more  obedient  than  a  slave.  If 
a  man  cherishes  the  vice  of  avarice  or  dissipation  or  selfishness, 
to  such  an  extent  that  the  habit  becomes  chronic,  a  chemical 
change  takes  place  in  his  molecules  and  tfie  expression  of  his 
countenance  indicates  what  is  going  on  within.  I  am  told  there 
are  in  the  galleries  of  Florence  two  busts  of  Nero.  The  first  is 
a  sweet  child  and  the  face  is  beautiful;  it  bears  the  stamp  of 
innocence.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  look  at  it.  The  second  is  that  of 
a  youth  who  had  abandoned  himself  to  his  passions  and  the  lines 
which  indicate  it  are  as  plain  to  the  observer  as  the  furrows  in 
a  plowed  field.  The  face  is  repulsive  and  you  turn  from  it  with 
something  like  disgust.  Health  and  happiness  are  founded  on 
wholesome  thoughts.  Think  toward  God  and  you  become  God- 
like. Think  evil,  and  every  pore  is  a  wide  open  door  through 
which  disease  may  enter,  the  kind  of  disease  which  contaminates 
all  who  come  in  contact  with  you.  If  the  people  of  the  world 
were  really  Christian,  we  should  be  strong,  hale  and  hearty,  and 
our  very  bodies  would  become  ideal.  Nothing  can  save  us  but 
by  opening  our  souls  to  the  God  Power  and  the  spiritual  laws, 
the  Christ  teachings.  He  disclosed  the  secret  to  the  universe.  He 
must  have  been  physically  perfect,  because  He  was  spiritually 
perfect.  The  laws  of  nature  were  on  His  side  because  He 
was  on  their  side.  You  can  never  be  your  best  self,  therefore, 
until  you  place  your  thoughts  on  the  higher  existence,  and 
thus  benefiting  all  with  whom  you  come  in  contact,  whether 
it  be  by  words  or  deeds.  This  rule  applies  also  to  our  environ- 
ments; you  can  be  happy  and  useful  under  any  circumstances, 
if  you  will  fill  them  with  spiritual  purposes.  Greed  and 
envy  and  selfishness  are  the  bane  of  our  human  life.    We  long 


484  Book  of  Knowledge. 

for  what  we  have  not  and  are  thus  unfitted  to  do  the  best  with 
what  we  have.  We  live  in  a  dream  of  what  we  hope  to  acquire, 
and  are  always  restless,  uncomfortable  and  discontented.  If  we 
can  persuade  ourselves  that  we  can  be  happy  with  what  surrounds 
us;  that  our  mission  is  to  get  as  much  out  of  life  as  is  possible, 
instead  of  worrying  because  others  have  more  than  we  have; 
finding  fault  with  Providence  and  our  ill  luck,  and  reaping  the 
misery  which  such  thoughts  always  bring,  we  would  change  all 
our  life  and  be  content  to  wait  till  our  loved  ones  in  the  higher 
life  would  be  ready  to  welcome  us  to  the  life  eternal;  teaching 
in  this  life,  "  Love  ye  one  another."  It  was  and  is  so  with  Christ 
the  Mediator.  Love  was  the  burden  of  His  speech;  love  for 
all;  the  poor,  the  oppressed,  the  criminal.  A  love  which  forces 
you  to  cease  from  quarrelling,  from  cherishing  an  unkind  thought 
toward  any  one,  even  your  enemy.  You  must  love,  not  hate; 
first,  for  God's  sake,  then  for  the  enemy's  sake,  and  lastly,  for 
your  own  sake ;  then : 

"  Examine  yourselves,  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith."  2  Cor. 
XIII,  5. 

"  If  we  live  in  the  spirit,  let  us  walk  in  the  spirit."  Galatians 
V,25; 

A  HAPPY  RELIGION. 

Hide  me  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings.    Psalms  XVII,  8. 

If  I  were  to  search  the  world  for  the  secret  of  a  useful  and  es- 
pecially of  a  cheerful  life,  I  should  end  my  journey  at  Spiritualism. 
I  might  bivouac  for  a  short  sojourn  in  the  lands  of  Mohammed, 
Zoroaster,  Confucius  and  Buddha,  but  I  would  build  my  house 
for  a  permanent  residence  on  the  shore  of  Spiritualism. 

I  cannot  get  rid  of  the  fact  that  between  the  time  when  the 
new-born  child  says,  "  Good  morning,"  and  the  time  when  the 
decrepid  old  man  says  "  Good  night,"  there  are  many  disagree- 
able experiences ;  many  struggles  which  will  tax  all  my  resources ; 
many  disappointments  which  naturally  make  me  resentful;  many 
profound  sorrows  which  throw  a  shadow,  as  when  the  sun  creeps 
behind  a  cloud  and  leaves  the  landscape  in  gloom.  It  requires 
no  second  thought  on  my  part  to  assure  myself  that  what  has  hap- 


Who  are  the  Christians?  485 

pened  to  others  will  happen  to  me  and  that  no  skill  or  wisdom 
can  change  that  fact.  I  may  smile  but  I  must  weep;  I  may  be 
rich,  but  I  must  go  through  a  Gethsemane  of  some  kind,  I  may  be 
famous,  but  I  must  bear  some  heart-breaking  burdens.  In  peas- 
ant's rags  or  royal  robes  my  fate  finds  me.  Its  demands  are  in- 
exorable. 

The  one  great  question  for  me  to  settle  as  soon  as  possible, 
therefore,  is  whether  I  shall  be  the  servile,  dogged  and  bitter 
slave  of  my  fate,  or  whether,  by  some  means  to  be  discovered,  my 
fate  and  I  can  come  to  such  terms  with  each  other  that,  instead 
of  being  soured  by  life,  I  shall  be  sweetened,  mellowed  and 
ripened.  If  I  can  do  the  latter  the  secret  is  mine,  and  having 
found  it  I  would  not  part  with  it  for  all  that  may  be  offered  in 
exchange. 

In  the  Old  World  there  were  some  philosophers  who  looked 
life  in  the  face  and  set  their  teeth  together  in  defiance.  They  had 
no  higher  law  to  guide  them,  but  like  true  stoics  bade  destiny 
do  its  worst.  To  them  it  was  a  hateful  thing  to  be  born  and  the 
only  good  came  when  they  fell  into  their  last  sleep.  There  ought 
to  be  a  better  view  than  that  to  live  by  or  God  must  have  de- 
serted us.  There  is  nothing  high,  broad,  or  noble  in  it.  Then 
there  were  other  philosophers  who  concluded  to  laugh  at  human 
experiences.  Life  was  a  sarcasm,  a  bit  of  ridicule,  a  painful 
sort  of  farce.  No  matter  what  came  they  shrugged  their  shoulders, 
lifted  their  eyebrows  and  tried  to  think  the  universe  a  practical 
joke.  This  may  do  for  children  but  not  for  men.  We  must 
pass  it  on  the  wayside  and  move  to  a  higher  level.  When  we 
listen  to  the  Spirit  we  hear  strange  things.  We  learn  that  we 
are  golden  but  not  pure  gold.  Trial  and  affliction  are  the  fire 
under  the  crucible  which  cannot  destroy  the  precious  metal  but 
will  remove  the  dross.  God  wants  us  to  be  at  our  best,  and  true 
religion  consists  in  recognizing  that  truth,  and  in  being  willing 
to  go  through  whatever  experience  He  thinks  necessary  in  order 
to  accomplish  that  end.  In  its  ignorance  the  molten  gold  in  the 
crucible  may  regard  itself  as  cruelly  tortured,  may  boil  and  bub- 
ble with  angry  and  defiant  protest,  but  when  at  last  the  master 
workman  removes  the  dross  and  molds  the  purified  metal  into 
an  ingot,  it  sees  its  mistake.     The  fire  which  seemed  to  be  its 


4^6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

worst  enemy  was  in  reality  its  best  friend.  The  experience  was 
hard  to  bear,  but  the  result  proved  that  the  highest  good  could 
be  attained  in  no  other  way.  We  shall  all  know  in  the  by  and  by 
that  what  we  suffer  is  as  necessary  as  what  we  enjoy;  that  a 
life  without  suffering  would  be  an  imperfect  and  undeveloped 
life. 

Now  as  I  understand  His  mission,  Christ's  purpose  was  to 
tell  us  at  once  what  by  and  by  we  shall  know  without  the  telling 
and  if  we  accept  this  philosophy  it  will  give  a  kind  of  good 
cheer  to  our  struggles,  our  sorrows,  and  even  our  bereavements. 
He  who  knows  why  he  weeps  and  believes  that  weeping  will 
ultimate  in  a  priceless  good  may  still  continue  to  weep,  but  there 
is  no  bitterness,  no  despair  in  his  tears.  It  may  be  hard  to  do  what 
must  be  done,  but  the  gold  that  is  conscious  of  being  refined  may 
even  bless  the  fire  which  gives  it  pain.  If  there  is  a  purpose  in 
our  agonies  and  we  know  what  that  purpose  is,  then  even  agony 
has  a  joy  hidden  behind  it. 

I  go  still  further  than  this  and  dare  to  say  that  what  the  Scrip- 
tures call  "  the  last  enemy  "  is  the  crowning  decree  of  a  benevo- 
lent Providence.  Death  is  nothing  more  than  the  dark  passage- 
way to  another  life.  We  dread  it  because  we  only  half  believe 
that  there  is  light  ahead.  Once  convince  us  that  we  close  our 
eyes  on  to-day  in  order  to  open  them  on  a  to-morrow  and  we 
shall  fall  asleep  as  quietly  as  a  child  in  its  mother's  arms.  Our 
doubts  are  the  ghosts  which  haunt  us  and  make  us  clutch  at  life. 
If  we  were  spiritually  in  a  normal  state  of  mind,  death  would 
not  be  death,  but  birth;  not  the  death  of  all  things,  but  the 
glorious  beginning  of  better  things. 

When  we  go  into  a  graveyard  it  is  with  bowed  heads.  We 
see  the  sod  but  not  the  heavens.  We  should  look  up  and  not  down. 
The  departed  have  not  gone  far  and  nothing  harms  them  so 
much  as  our  want  of  faith  that  they  are  near.  That  kind  of 
religion  is  all  sunshine.  It  is  the  only  religion  worth  having.  It 
is  the  religion  which  Christ  taught.  It  will  stand  the  test  of 
human  experience  and  give  you  an  insight  and  an  outlook  that 
can  be  found  nowhere  else.  We  travel  along  a  road  that  is 
sometimes  rugged  and  steep ;  we  grow  weary,  and  even  despond- 
ent, because  our  eyes  are  dull. 


Who  are  the  Christians?  487 

But  we  are  on  the  way  home  and  they  who  have  gone  await 
our  coming.  The  stout  heart  is  the  heart  of  knowledge,  and  that 
kind  of  religion  is  peace,  contentment,  joy,  and  resignation.  We 
go  not  alone,  for  our  hand  is  in  the  Father's  hand,  and  we  are 
therefore  safe.  We  know  our  loved  ones  are  awaiting  our  com- 
ing and  all  shall  be  made  ready  for  our  reception  there. 

"  For  I  have  not  spoken  of  Myself  but  the  Father  which  sent 
Me;  He  gave  Me  a  commandment,  what  I  should  say  and  what 
I  should  speak."    St.  John  XII,  49. 

"  And  I  know  that  His  commandment  is  life  everlasting : 
whatsoever  I  speak,  therefore,  even  as  the  Fathv,r  said  unto  Me, 
so  I  speak."    St.  John  XII,  50. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

A  HIGHER  LIFE. 

He  is  not  here,  for  He  has  arisen  as  He  said,  Matthew 
XXVIII,  6. 

The  most  difficult  thing  in  this  lower  life  is  to  thoroughly 
appreciate  the  fact  of  a  higher  life  and  to  act  with  constant  refer- 
ence to  it.  We  are  so  saturated  with  the  spirit  of  to-day,  so  en- 
tangled in  the  fascinating  meshes  of  the  present,  so  content  with 
the  pleasures  and  ambitions  of  time,  that  the  future  seems  more 
like  a  romance  than  a  reality.  In  a  vague  sort  of  way  we  believe 
in  a  continued  existence  but  we  are  so  concerned  about  the  ap- 
parent impossibilities  connected  with  it  that  our  faith  is  more  or 
less  blurred  and  marred.  We  allow  ourselves  to  dwell  so  con- 
tinuously on  the  method  by  which  immortality  is  to  be  achieved, 
that  we  sometimes  doubt  God's  ability  to  keep  His  promise,  and 
feel  that  He  should  have  told  us  more  about  it.  So  we  walk  in 
a  dense  fog,  once  in  a  while  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  landscape 
when  the  fog  lifts,  and  then  groping  about,  not  knowing  which 
way  to  turn. 

The  action  of  Christ  under  circumstances  more  trying  than 
any  we  can  experience  is  a  rebuke  to  us.  He  faced  life  with 
less  calmness  than  he  faced  death.  He  grew  in  spiritual  stature 
after  entering  Gethsemane.  He  was  never  more  serene  than  when 
the  shadow  of  the  cross  fell  on  Him.  He  was  like  a  star  at  all 
other  times,  but  when  the  nails  were  being  driven  into  the  cruel 
wood  He  was  a  blazing  sun.  One  cry  of  human  suffering  es- 
caped Him,  but  it  was  the  cry  of  the  body,  not  of  the  soul.  I 
marvel  at  this.  The  picture  attracts  and  awes  me.  In  the  most 
solemn  of  all  hours  He  was  as  peaceful  at  heart  as  an  unruffled 
sea,  and  as  mighty.  He  welcomed  the  shock  of  death,  which  may 
terrify  you ;  glad  that  His  earthly  mission  had  been  accomplished. 


A  Higher  Life.  489* 

and  buoyed  by  the  actual  sight — a  privilege  often  granted  to  us 
also — of  the  home  to  which  He  was  hastening. 

Yes,  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  mortals  in  their  last  ex- 
tremity, just  as  kindly  death  is  loosening  the  bonds  which  unite 
soul  and  body,  have  visions  of  those  who  will  meet  them  when 
their  farewells  to  earth  have  been  said.  Almost  every  family 
can  recite  an  incident  of  that  kind  and  tell  you  how,  under  its 
influence,  some  dear  one  has  passed  away  with  a  smile  on  his 
lips.  And  why  should  not  these  things  be  true  if  God  is  really 
our  Father  and  we  are  really  His  children?  Why  should  He 
not  send  His  ministering  angels  to  us  at  such  a  time,  when  timid 
souls  touch  a  strange  shore,  to  bid  them  a  welcome  into  the  world 
of  which  they  have  dreamed  in  their  loftier  moods?  And  if  the 
eyes  of  the  dying  may  be  thus  opened,  why  may  not  the  time 
come  when  the  eyes  of  the  living  shall  all  be  equally  blest?  A 
great  many  are  now.  If  heaven  is  close  to  us  and  only  a  thin 
partition  divides  the  two  homes,  it  must  be  possible  when  we 
become  pure  in  heart  to  hear  and  see  even  as  the  Christ  did. 
It  will  not  be  too  much  to  ask  when  we  shall  so  live  as  to  merit 
the  privilege.  This  world  presses  so  heavily  on  our  hearts  just 
now,  but  by  and  by,  when  we  comprehend  the  significance  of  the 
other  world,  it  will  be  very  different. 

Your  immortal  life  began  before  your  cradled  infancy.  You 
are  in  the  midst  of  it  at  the  present  moment.  Mortality  and  im- 
mortality go  hand  in  hand  for  a  while  up  many  a  steep  hill  and 
into  many  a  deep  valley.  It  is  God's  will  that  they  shall  keep 
company,  that  which  dies  and  that  which  cannot  die.  They  are 
strange  comrades,  but  they  get  on  very  well  together.  When  the 
right  moment  arrives  they  take  a  tender  farewell  of  each  other, 
and  then  we  discover  their  several  peculiarities  and  the  curious 
difference  between  the  two.  The  mortal  is  weary  and  worn.  It 
has  lived  here.  It  has  accomplished  its  task,  its  work  is  done,  and 
it  has  deserved  the  rest  it  seeks.  But  the  soul  is  not  tired.  It  has 
just  begun  to  recognize  itself.  It  has  plumed  its  wings  for  many 
a  short  flight,  and  is  ready  to  soar.  It  has  learned  the  alphabet 
of  life,  nothing  more,  and  is  prepared  to  study  its  principles  and 
its  mysteries.  A  tired  body,  a  fresh  and  vigorous  soul;  why 
should  they  not  part  company  ?    Let  them  clasp  hands  in  a  tender 


49©  Book  of  Knowledge. 

farewell,  the  one  to  go  to  the  earth  elements,  the  other  to  go  for- 
ward to  achieve  its  great  destiny.  I  do  not  know  why  they  ever 
came  together,  this  mortal  and  this  immortal,  but  I  can  see  a 
good  reason  for  their  parting  and  why  the  soul  should  lay  aside 
its  torn  and  shattered  garment  and  be  clothed  upon  with  a  spirit- 
ual body. 

This  night  while  writing  I  hear  the  whisperings  of  heaven — 
the  soft,  low  voices  of  angels  are  sounding  in  my  ears.  Dear 
ones  from  on  high  are  here  in  our  earthly  homes.  They  have 
not  forgotten  us,  for  true  human  love,  like  God's  love,  never  dies, 
and  to-night  when  all  the  earth  is  resting  they  stretch  out  invis- 
ible hands  and  cry,  "  We,  too,  have  risen  and  you  shall  rise." 

There  is  no  death.  They  who  have  gone  are  more  truly  and 
more  thoroughly  alive  than  we  are,  and  our  best  life  will  come 
when  death  does  us  a  great  service  and  sets  us  free. 

"  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless :  I  will  come  to  you."  St. 
John  XIV,  i8. 

A  NEW  YEAR. 

Be  ye  therefore  perfect.    St.  Matthew  V,  48. 

We  are  on  the  threshold  of  another  year.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  time  to  the  soul,  but  our  earthly  limitations  are  such 
that  it  is  convenient  to  speak  of  months  and  weeks  and  days, 
like  grains  of  sand  which  slip  through  the  fingers,  no  matter 
how  closely  we  hold  them.  These  weeks  and  months  glide  by 
us  and  refuse  to  stay,  even  at  our  most  earnest  entreatyi  So 
pass  our  days,  quite  heedless  of  our  wishes,  as  though  they  were 
anxious  to  bear  us  to  the  beyond ;  so  pass  our  weeks  and  months 
and  years,  with  ever-increasing  haste,  and  one  of  our  greatest 
surprises  is,  that  youth  has  suddenly  changed  to  manhood,  and 
that  maturity  has  given  way  to  gray-haired  age.  No  sooner  do 
we  begin  to  realize  what  it  is  to  live  when  we  find  that  already 
life  has  nearly  ended.  The  past  is  little  more  than  a  dream,  a 
faint  reminiscence  which  leaves  us  in  wonder  as  to  what  the 
future  will  be.  The  past  is  the  echo  of  distant  music  now  like  a 
song  and  now  like  a  dirge.  We  have  suffered,  toiled,  struggled ; 
and  each  experience  has  left  its  joyous  impression  on  the  face 


A  Higher  Life.  491 

or  its  furrow  on  the  brow.  The  pendulum  swings,  and  swings, 
and  swings.  It  is  omnipotent ;  it  is  irresistible.  Neither  can  a 
king,  with  all  his  resources,  purchase  a  moment's  hesitation,  nor 
can  a  peasant's  hand  hold  it  during  a  single  heart-beat.  We  are 
being  borne  on  toward  eternity,  whether  asleep  or  awake ;  whether 
asleep  or  awake ;  whether  we  be  rich  or  poor ;  whether  we  weep  or 
laugh.  And  why  should  it  not  be  so  ?  "  Wherefore  are  we 
troubled  ?  "  The  closer  we  get  to  the  perfect  man,  the  less  we 
regard  this  life,  which  is  the  book  itself.  Other  worlds  await 
us;  larger  opportunities  are  in  the  near  future.  The  soul  now 
hampered  by  circumstances  shall  sometime  be  free.  The  burden 
of  environment  shall  be  dropped,  and  when  we  are  emancipated 
we  shall  be  larger,  nobler,  and  more  like  Christ.  What  care 
we,  then,  for  time?  The  years  may  come  and  go  as  they  please, 
and  their  speed  does  not  disturb  us.  We  are  on  the  road  to  our 
eternal  home,  and  the  nearer  we  get  to  it  the  higher  our  antici- 
pations, the  deeper  are  our  longings.  Earth  is  nothing  when 
heaven  is  in  sight.  The  perfect  man;  he  is  coming  but  not  yet. 
He  is  afar  off,  with  his  face  turned  this  way.  We  are  simply 
spoiled  children  with  a  New  Testament  which  we  read  but  do  not 
understand:  with  a  ghostly  sort  of  religion  made  up  of  dogmas, 
which  no  one  can  explain ;  with  a  church  so-called  formal  that  the 
Christ  would  hardly  find  a  welcome  there.  The  world  is  mostly 
made  up  of  heretics  who  think  themselves  orthodox.  They  believe 
almost  every  thing  except  Christ.  He  has  not  yet  been  revealed 
to  them;  they  know  something  about  Him,  but  He  Himself  they 
do  not  know.  In  another  century  the  race  will  have  a  real  religion, 
of  which  the  religion  of  to-day  is  the  dry  husk  with  scarcely  a 
kernel  of  corn.  The  perfect  man  will  be  a  Christ-man,  with 
power  over  body  and  control  of  mind.  He  will  live  on  a  higher 
spiritual  level ;  become  acquainted  with  the  laws  by  which  miracles 
were  worked  in  other  days  (and  are  sometimes  now,  only  some 
are  yet  too  ignorant  to  accept  it),  and  will  learn  how  to  work 
miracles  in  himself.  When  man  and  the  God  Power  are  one, 
everything  is  possible.  When  man  is  in  harmony  with  the  spirit- 
ual laws  he  can  exercise  a  power  beyond  the  reach  of  reckoning. 
There  will  be  no  poverty  in  that  prophetic  time,  for  when  the  rich 
man  loves  the  poor  and  all  classes  are  woven  together  in  the 


493  Book  of  Knowledge. 

fabric  of  a  perfect  society,  poverty  will  become  an  obsolete  word 
and  crime  will  be  unknown.  I  know,  too,  that  the  day  is  coming 
when  the  other  world  will  be  an  open  secret.  What  the  prophets 
and  seers  of  Israel  saw,  many  are  now  seeing,  and  the  telephones 
between  earth  and  heaven  will  be  so  numerous  that  each  home  will 
have  one.  Heaven  and  earth  will  be  so  close  together  that  they 
cannot  be  told  apart.  The  dead,  but  in  the  new  religion  no  such 
word  will  be  found :  not  dead,  but  born  again ;  not  dead,  but  liv- 
ing in  the  nearer  presence  of  the  Almighty;  their  love  for  us 
unbroken,  their  interest  undisturbed,  their  power  to  help  in- 
creased. Year  by  year  we  throw  aside  something  of  the  worn 
out  and  old  and  take  on  something  of  the  new  and  better.  Year 
by  year  our  sight  grows  clearer  as  we  gaze  upward  with  wonder. 
Year  by  year  the  Christ's  spiritual  laws  come  closer  to  our  hearts 
ready  to  teach  us  how  to  live.  And  so  we  speed  the  parting  guest, 
grateful  for  the  precious  memories  it  leaves  behind  and  welcome 
the  new-comer,  bearing  twelve  months  in  his  arms,  and  with  a 
prayer  that  it  may  lead  us  a  full  day's  march  toward  the  Christ- 
manhood  and  the  Christ-womanhood. 

"  Now  concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren,  I  would  not  have 
you  ignorant."    1  Cor.  XII,  i. 

HELP  FOR  THE  WEARY. 
My  God,  my  strength,  in  whom  I  will  trust.    Psalms  XVIII,  2. 

A  word  to  those  who  have  found  life  very  hard,  who  bear  a 
bitter  disappointment  in  their  hearts,  and  who  wonder  why  such 
thorny  paths  loom  up  before  them.  There  are  many  such  and 
many  dear  readers  will  realize  it.  There  are  times  in  every  man 
and  woman's  life  when  it  appears  to  them  that  they  are  not  being 
treated  fairly.  Possibly  there  may  be  a  few  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule,  but  probably  not.  Some  hide  their  grief  and  their 
grievances  at  such  times  and  sternly  refuse  to  take  the  world  or 
even  God  into  their  confidence.  They  dissemble  for  pride's  sake, 
and  though  they  smile  outwardly  they  groan  inwardly.  Per- 
haps these  suffer  most. 

Wliat  we  call  ill  fortune  attacks  us  in  our  weakest  place.    It 


A  Higher  Life.  493 

concentrates  its  forces  on  that  part  of  tlie  wall  which  is  most 
likely  to  give  away  and  in  too  many  cases  compels  surrender  and 
captures  the  fort.  You  may  call  it  the  devil,  or  you  may  call 
it  by  any  other  name  that  suits  your  prejudices  or  your  convic- 
tions, but  the  plain  fact  is  that  when  you  are  in  trouble  some 
subtle  invisible  and  fiendish  influence  whispers  in  your  ear  that 
of  course  there  can  be  no  Providence  or  you  would  not  be  left 
thus  in  the  lurch.  You  listen  because  you  cannot  help  it,  and  if 
after  listening  you  assent,  you  are  practically  lost,  for  the  heart, 
the  courage,  has  gone  out  of  you  and  you  fall  by  the  wayside 
an  imbittered  soul. 

So  long  as  you  maintain  your  faith  in  God  and  in  the  ability 
of  his  angels  to  help  you,  you  are  a  warrior  witli  a  strong  arm 
and  a  sharp  sword.  The  odds  may  be  against  you,  but  God  and 
you  together  can  fight  any  fight  and  win.  You  can  cut  your  way 
through  a  horde  of  evils  for  you  are  not  alone.  There  is  a  kind 
of  satisfaction  in  facing  adverse  circumstances  and  great  honor 
to  be  obtained  in  conquering  them.  Let  the  conflict  be  as  long 
and  as  sharp' as  it  will,  it  must  end  at  last,  and  it  can  only  end 
one  way,  that  is,  in  your  favor.  So  you  bravely  meet  your  hard- 
ships, and  though  they  bring  tears  from  your  eyes,  as  the  clouds 
drop  rain,  and  though  you  are  worn  and  weary  and  poor  and  sick, 
you  are  still  patient  and  even  hopeful,  for  Crod  will  not  desert  you. 
Even  if  the  struggle  continues  until  the  last  gasp,  you  know  that 
open  arms  are  waiting  to  embrace  and  welcome  you,  and  that 
the  defeats  of  this  life  may  be  changed  to  victories  in  the  next. 
If  it  is  His  will  that  you  shall  be  poor  and  hungry,  why,  the 
fact  that  it  is  His  will  sustains  you,  and  you  need  not  and  cannot 
succumb,  for  like  the  bees  you  are  able  to  extract  pure  honey 
from  worthless  weeds  and  poisonous  blossoms. 

But  if  you  are  robbed  of  that  faith,  if  you  let  it  slip  from  your 
grasp,  it  is  like  losing  the  rope  which  binds  you  to  your  guide 
when  climbing  the  icy  Alps ;  or  like  tearing  down  the  roof  which 
shelters  you  from  the  pitiless  storm,  or  like  throwing  into  the 
sea  the  bread  on  which  you  must  subsist  until  you  reach  the 
shore.  You  cannot  fight  with  any  hope  of  success  unless  you  have 
the  right  kind  of  ammunition  and  plenty  of  it.  This  is  true  of 
the  battle-field  and  of  life. 


494  Book  of  Knowledge. 

If  you  have  no  God  and  no  faith  in  the  spiritual  world  you 
are  very  poorly  prepared  for  what  is  before  you.  You  need  both 
before  you  can  be  properly  equipped.  A  sailor  can  tie  a  knot 
which  will  slip  when  the  line  is  strained,  and  he  can  also  tie  a  knot 
which  becomes  tighter  as  the  strain  on  the  line  grows  greater. 
There  are  men  and  women  whose  religious  faith  gives  way  when 
there  is  hard  work  to  be  done.  They  are  fair  weather  men  and 
women,  who  believe  in  God  and  Jesus  Christ  as  long  as  the  sun 
shines,  and  deny  Him  after  dark.  And  there  are  souls  who  cling 
closer  to  their  faith  when  serious  trouble  is  at  hand.  They  may 
be  robbed  of  everything  else,  but  no  enemy  or  plunderer  can  steal 
that.  Poor,  sick,  friendless,  there  is  an  oasis  in  the  desert  to 
which  they  can  retire  for  refreshment.  Their  thoughts  buoy 
them  up  instead  of  pressing  them  down.  Such  a  poor  man,  with 
all  the  forces  of  adversity  entangling  him,  is  better  off  than  the 
rich  man  with  despair  in  his  heart.  The  man  or  woman  who 
has  God  and  the  dear  angels  for  friends  can  dispense  with  other 
companionship,  but  if  God  depart,  not  all  the  other  friends  in  the 
world  can  fill  His  place.  Yes,  life  is  hard  at  times,  but  you  are 
brave;  it  cannot  conquer  you,  for  you  are  foreordained  to  be  the 
victor.  There  are  elements  of  manhood  or  womanhood  in  you 
which  make  you  resemble  the  sturdy  and  majestic  ship  in  an 
Atlantic  gale.  The  gale  does  its  worst  and  the  ship  does  its  best. 
It  is  a  terrible  struggle,  but  the  storm  wears  itself  out  and  the 
patient  ship,  bruised  it  may  be  and  somewhat  injured,  steams  into 
port  and  comes  to  anchor.  So  will  it  be  with  the  soul  that  crosses 
the  ocean  of  life,  if  there  is  faith  in  the  heart. 

"  Let  all  bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamour,  and 
evil  speaking,  be  put  away  from  you,  with  all  malice."  Ephesians 
IV,  31. 

IMITATING  CHRIST. 

Master  I  will  follow  Thee.    Matthew  VIII,  19. 

We  are  told  that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  imitate 
Christ,  that  any  attempt  to  do  so  would  render  us  liable  to  the 
charge  of  fanaticism  and  bring  us  into  ridicule.    The  spirit  of 


A  Higher  Life.  495 

the  age  in  which  we  live,  it  is  said,  is  so  opposed  to  some  of  the 
injunctions  of  the  New  Testament  that  if  we  Hterally  took  no 
thought  for  the  morrow,  or  if  we  really  loved  our  neighbors  as 
ourselves,  we  should  overturn  the  whole  system  of  society.  In 
a  word,  we  are  assured  that  while  the  gospels  contain  a  very 
beautiful  theory  of  life,  it  cannot  be  applied  to  existing  affairs 
without  producing  disaster.  I  have  no  doubt  that  society  as 
at  present  constituted  is  in  many  important  respects  structur- 
ally weak,  and  that  we  shall,  though  by  slow  degrees,  adopt 
the  principles  of  Christ  and  His  spiritual  teachings.  This 
weakness  is  the  despair  of  the  philanthropist  who  sees  the 
wrong  but  does  not  know  how  to  right  it. 

The  great  aggregation  of  men  and  women  which  we  call 
society  is  greedy  and  selfish.  Those  who  have  plenty  give 
slender  heed  to  those  who  have  nothing,  and  though  there  is 
infinite  suffering  from  cold  and  hunger,  there  is  hardly  a  ripple 
of  sympathy,  and  small  effort  to  remedy  the  evil.  We  care  so 
much  for  ourselves  that  we  have  no  room  for  pity  of  others. 
The  spirit  of  the  age  is  not  the  spirit  of  brotherly  love  or  of 
helpfulness.  In  the  competition  for  wealth  it  matters  little 
what  happens  to  our  neighbor  if  only  we  can  have  what  we 
seek.  Hearts  are  being  crushed  everywhere,  lives  are  being 
ruined  everywhere,  and  even  religion  takes  no  note  of  the  fact, 
but  preaches  tamely  as  though  we  were  on  the  highway  to  the 
millennium.  If  Christ  were  to  come  again  he  would  meet  with 
no  better  reception  than  was  accorded  Him  in  Jerusalem.  We 
would  also  call  Him  a  dreamer,  an  enthusiast,  an  unpractical 
theorist,  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  would  be  listened  to 
with  the  wonder  which  changes  to  sarcasm.  We  are  not  yet 
ready  for  Him  or  His  doctrines,  because  what  we  call  society 
is  based  on  principles  which  He  denounced.  But  He  planted 
the  seed  of  the  new  life,  the  life  of  brotherhood  and  justice  and 
mercy  and  love,  and  in  due  time  we  shall  reap  the  crop.  He  is 
Master  of  the  situation,  and  though  we  rebel  we  shall  at  last 
surrender. 

In  the  meantime  we  can  imitate  Him  in  very  many  respects 
and  find  profit  therein.  Indeed  there  is  already  a  multitude  of 
Christ-like  men  and  women  scattered  throughout  all  classes  of 


496  Book  of  Knowledge. 

society,  and  the  sweetness  and  heroism  of  their  lives,  their 
charity  of  judgment,  their  self-sacrifice,  their  resignation  in 
sorrow,  and  their  hopefulness  in  bereavement  give  us  a  glimpse 
of  what  the  world  would  be  if  such  people  were  not  the  excep- 
tion but  the  rule. 

I  have  known  martyrs  in  humble  as  well  as  in  high  life  bow- 
ing their  heads  to  the  inevitable,  bearing  a  heavy  cross  in 
saintly  fashion,  no  one  knowing  their  burden  but  God  and 
themselves.  They  make  all  better  by  the  subtle  influence  of 
a  holy  character.  Christ  was  always  conscious  of  the  presence 
of  God  and  of  the  angels,  and  we  can  imitate  Him  in  that.  He 
had  the  companionship  of  those  who  inhabit  the  unseen  world 
and  depended  on  them  with  supreme  faith  in  time  of  desolation 
and  sorrow.  "  I  say  unto  you,  hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven 
open,  and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon 
the  Son  of  Man."    St.  John  I,  51. 

This  world  has  very  little  sympathy  to  offer  us,  but  if  we 
have  a  Jacob's  ladder,  our  dear  ones,  their  interest  in  us  as 
vital  as  ever,  will  come  down  with  help  and  go  up  bearing  our 
prayers. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  Christ's  work  was  finished  when 
He  went  to  heaven.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  just  begun.  "  I 
will  be  with  you  always  "  were  not  words  lightly  spoken ;  but 
their  full  import  is  seldom  understood. 

The  Christ  of  Jerusalem  is  the  Christ  of  to-day.  He  is  on 
the  earth  now  just  as  much  as  we  are.  The  angels  who  min- 
istered to  Him  then  are  ministering  to  us  at  the  present 
moment.  His  power  is  our  power  if  we  are  in  the  right  rela- 
tion to  Him.  And  what  He  did,  yes,  "greater  things  than 
these  shall  ye  do,"  when  He  and  we  are  on  terms  of  divine  in- 
timacy. Burdens  may  be  heavy,  but  nevertheless  they  will  be 
light;  sorrows  may  be  hard  to  bear,  and  yet  they  will  be  easy 
to  bear;  death  may  be  dreaded,  and  yet  it  will  be  gladly  wel- 
comed ;  bereavement  may  be  heart-breaking,  and  yet  our  hearts 
will  not  be  broken — these  are  the  paradoxes  of  a  true  religion. 
Christ  in  the  soul,  loved  as  the  bride  is  loved  by  the  bride- 
groom, dear  ones  waiting  on  the  earthward  shore  of  eternity 
to  greet  us  at  our  coming.     Beautiful  life,  calm,  serene  death, 


A  Higher  Life.  497 

and  "  There  shall  be  no  night  there."  That  is  the  religion  of 
the  future :  why  not  make  it  the  religion  of  to-day  ? 

"  Therefore  doth  my  Father  love  me,  because  I  lay  down 
my  life  that  I  might  take  it  again."    St.  John  X,  17. 

"  No  man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.  I 
have  power  to  lay  it  down  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again. 
This  commandment  have  I  received  of  my  Father."  St.  John 
X,  18. 

WHEN  SHALL  WE  WALK  BY  SIGHT? 

/  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  hut  ye  cannot  bear  theni 
now.    St.  John  XVI,  12. 

The  world  has  had  in  any  given  age  as  much  truth  as  it  was 
able  to  bear.  A  truth  misunderstood  is  the  equivalent  of  an 
untruth,  just  as  firearms  in  the  hands  of  a  child  are  dangerous. 
When  a  person  has  acquired  the  due  amount  of  intelligence  he 
may  be  safely  intrusted  with  a  gun,  but  ignorance  will  not 
escape  injury  from  it.  When  men  have  reached  that  period  of 
evolution  which  demands  new  truths,  these  truths  have  some- 
how come  as  lightning  came  out  of  the  clouds  at  the  bidding 
of  Franklin.  New  truths  seem  to  be  concealed  from  us  until 
we  have  special  use  for  them,  and  then  inspired  lips  are  un- 
sealed and  the  revelation  is  made.  We  have  never  been  able 
to  bear  any  larger  knowledge  of  the  immortal  life  than  we  have 
possessed,  and  it  has  therefore  been  denied  to  us.  We  have 
not  been  sufficiently  developed,  either  intellectually  or  spirit- 
ually, to  endure  the  blazing  light,  and  so  the  curtains  have  been 
drawn  down ;  the  full  sunshine  has  been  shut  out,  and  we  have 
seen  **  through  a  glass  darkly."  Our  conception  of  the  future 
has  been  heretofore  of  the  vaguest  character.  We  have  be- 
lieved in  another  life,  and  our  belief  has  lightened  the  burden 
and  set  a-  rainbow  against  our  tears,  and  filled  us  with  a  yearn- 
ing after  the  departed  which  has  robbed  death  of  its  terrors, 
but  our  ideas  have  been  indefinite  and  confused,  and  we  have 
been  unable  to  discuss  the  subject  even  with  ourselves.  Why 
is  this  so?    It  has  given  us  great  pain  at  times,  and  we  have 


498  Book  of  Knowledge. 

sighed  as  though  immortality  might,  after  all,  prove  to  be  a 
dream;  beautiful,  upHfting,  but  still  a  dream. 

Why  have  we  had  so  little  knowledge,  and  incorrect  knowl- 
edge, of  that  life  to  which  we  are  all  hastening?  In  my  poor 
judgment  it  is  an  added  evidence  of  the  wise  plan  on  which  all 
things  are  conducted.  Christ's  words  recur  to  me,  and  I  feel 
sure  that  we  have  heretofore  known  all  that  we  could  bear,  all 
that  we  were  fitted  to  make  use  of.  We  get  what  we  need  at 
the  time  we  need  it  and  are  prepared  for  it.  If  this  is  true 
along  the  historic  path  of  material  progress,  it  is  equally  true 
in  the  realm  of  religion.  To  the  untutored  or  undisciplined 
mind,  a  perfect  revelation  of  what  heaven  is  and  of  the  en- 
vironments of  the  soul  in  that  other  world  would  be  incal- 
culably unwise,  and  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  a  positive  and 
alarming  injury.  This  life  has  a  divine  purpose,  but  that  pur- 
pose would  be  wholly  defeated  if  our  knowledge  of  the  future 
were  suddenly  enlarged.  The  heavy  burdens  we  bear;  the 
struggles  in  which  we  are  engaged;  the  bitter  tears  we  are 
forced  to  shed;  the  disappointments  of  our  fondest  hopes, 
which  we  are  compelled  to  endure  are  all  blows  of  the  hammer 
and  chisel  which  shape  the  rough  block  of  marble  into  a  price- 
less statue.  Life  as  at  present  constituted  would  be  incom- 
plete without  hardships  and  sorrow.  It  may  not  always  be  so, 
but  it  is  so  now.  To  those  who  find  it  especially  difficult  to 
use  their  troubles  for  a  high  end  and  who  at  times  sink  in 
despair,  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  other  world  might  prove 
the  irresistible  temptation  to  commit  a  crime.  The  universal 
dread  of  death  and  this  uncertainty  concerning  the  future  is 
one  of  the  strongest  safeguards  of  the  present  life.  We  bear 
the  ills  we  have  and  gain  a  sweeter  character  by  our  patience 
and  endurance,  whereas,  if  we  knew  all,  we  might  cross  the 
border  line  through  sheer  desperation,  and  so  lose  the  very 
object  for  which  we  were  placed  in  this  lower  world.  But  the 
time  is  coming  when  we  shall  know  more  because  we  can  bear 
more.  I  can  see  the  first  streaks  of  light  above  the  hill-tops, 
and  am  sure  that  by  and  by  the  fogs  and  mists  in  which  we 
now  dwell  will  be  swept  away  by  the  light  of  a  brighter,  if  not 
perfect  day.     God's  revelations  come  no  faster  than  they  are 


A  Higher  Life.  499 

called  for.  Christ  meant  a  great  deal  when  He  declared,  "  I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you/'  and  I  think  He  has 
been  saying  them,  one  by  one,  through  the  ages,  giving  in  pro- 
portion to  our  ability  to  bear,  and  adding  nothing  more  when 
the  limit  of  our  ability  to  use  was  reached.  Many  things  have 
been  told  to  our  fathers.  More  has  been  told  to  us,  and  much 
more  will  be  told  to  our  children's  children. 

Are  we  prepared  for  an  actual  demonstration  of  the  im- 
mortal life?  I  know  we  long  for  it,  hunger  for  it,  and  thirst 
for  it,  and  pray  for  it,  but  would  it  be  safe  to  answer  that 
prayer?  Are  we  in  a  condition  of  mind  and  soul  to  bear  the 
truth,  or  would  it  prove  too  much  for  us  ?  "  How  that  by 
revelation  he  made  known  unto  me  the  mystery,  as  I  wrote 
afore  in  a  few  words,  whereby,  when  ye  read,  ye  may  under- 
stand my  knowledge  in  the  mystery  of  Christ."     Ephesians 

HI,  3-4. 

"  Which  in  other  ages  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons 
of  men,  as  it  is  now  revealed  unto  His  holy  apostles  and 
prophets  by  the  spirit."    Ephesians  HI,  5. 

Can  you  look  at  the  sun  ?  Can  you  absorb  the  absolute  cer- 
tainty of  another  life  ?  If  immortality  were  no  longer  a  matter 
of  faith,  but  a  fact  so  clearly  proved  that  denial  would  be  im- 
possible, just  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  deny  the  law  of 
gravitation,  could  you  stand  the  strain?  The  longing  is  a  hint 
that  you  are  in  process  of  preparation,  but  the  change  in  our 
outlook,  in  our  motives,  would  be  so  great  that  we  should  not 
become  accustomed  to  the  new  order  of  things  in  many  years. 
I  know  that  Christ  did  not  walk  by  faith  alone,  but  by  knowl- 
edge. He  lived  in  the  future  and  drew  strength  from  it.  The 
to-morrow  of  heaven  lifted  the  burden  of  each  sorrowful  to-day. 
At  some  period  in  our  development,  how  far  distant  I  know 
not,  we  shall  have  a  new  heaven,  and  that  will  give  us  a  new 
earth ;  when  the  voices  of  our  loved  ones  from  the  angel  world 
shall  be  heard  by  all  earth's  children,  and  our  sight  will  not  be 
dim,  but  clear.  We  shall  not  hope  that  our  loved  ones  are  near, 
for  we  shall  know  it  to  be  true.  This  life  of  simple  faith  is 
beautiful,  and  we  have  trod  many  a  difficult  path  under  its 
benign  influence,  but  when  you  will  have  the  full  knowledge, 


500  Book  oj  Knowledge. 

then  you  will  know.  But  at  last,  aye,  ere  long  perhaps, 
heaven  and  earth  will  touch  each  other.  We  shall  be  prepared 
for  the  greater  truth,  and  the  dear  Christ  power  will  send  more 
messengers  to  announce  it.  God  is  always  present  in  His 
world,  and  He  will  tell  us  more  when  we  are  able  to  endure  it. 
Until  then  keep  your  faith  pure  and  watch  the  coming  of  the 
morning. 

**  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs ;  for  the 
time  Cometh  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs, 
but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of  the  Father."    St.  John  XVI,  25. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

HARMFUL  FEARS. 

Fear  ye  not  therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  spar- 
rows.   St.  Matthew  X,  31. 

While  it  may  not  be  true  that  happiness  is  the  chief  end  of 
life,  it  is  nevertheless  one  of  the  objects  which  a  man  should 
always  keep  in  view.  It  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  the  more 
miserable  you  are  the  more  religious  you  are.  Honest  enjoy- 
ment has  as  much  to  do  with  the  soul's  development  as  have 
sorrows  and  struggles,  and  it  is  just  as  truly  a  duty  to  seek  it 
wherever  it  may  be  found  as  it  is  to  meet  tribulation  bravely. 
All  human  experiences  are  included  in  the  plan  of  God,  and 
there  is  as  much  religion  in  a  smile  as  in  a  tear. 

When  the  command  is  given  to  "  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
always,  and  again  I  say  rejoice,"  the  obligation  is  laid  upon  us 
to  make  the  best  of  every  circumstance;  to  find  hope  when 
only  despair  is  in  sight;  and  by  resignation  in  trial  to  lighten 
its  burden  as  much  as  possible.  Life  is  not  a  jest,  neither  is  it 
full  of  exuberant  joyousness.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  serious 
task  to  get  yourself  in  harmony  with  the  universe,  and  to  keep 
yourself  there.  There  is,  however,  a  supreme  satisfaction  in 
knowing  that  you  have  wholly  or  even  partially  accomplished 
that  task,  and  that  kind  of  satisfaction  contains  all  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  happiness.  The  man  who  is  scaling  the  moun- 
tain side  has  a  hard  day's  work,  but  if  he  is  really  making  the 
ascent,  he  is  neither  grim-visaged  nor  gloomy;  he  can  stoop 
to  gather  the  blossoms  in  his  path ;  to  appreciate  the  grandeur 
of  the  scenery ;  to  watch  the  clouds  in  their  flight.  He  is  not 
simply  doing  a  heavy  bit  of  drudgery,  for  there  are  compensa- 
tions at  every  stage  of  the  journey.  The  very  effort  which  will 
make  him  successful  at  last  has  an  element  of  joy  in  it,  and  the 
consciousness  that  he  is  doing  a  man's  work  in  a  manly  way 


5oa  Book  of  Knowledge. 

fits  him,  both  mentally  and  physically,  for  such  incidental 
pleasures  as  may  offer  themselves.  And  if  his  double  purpose 
is  to  accomplish  his  destiny  as  God  has  made  it  plain  to  him, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  lose  no  opportunity  to  seek  the  sweet 
as  well  as  the  bitter,  and  even  to  seek  the  sweet  which  the 
bitter  itself  may  furnish,  he  is  in  the  attitude  of  a  child  of  the 
Father,  and  represents  the  true  Christian  religion  in  its  most 
practical  phase. 

Fear  more  than  any  other  emotion  poisons  happiness,  and 
the  only  antidote  for  that  poison  is  knowledge.  A  doubt  is  a 
fear  in  disguise,  and  it  produces  all  the  results  of  fear.  Teach 
a  child  that  this  is  a  dreadful  sort  of  world  to  live  in ;  that  there 
are  ambushed  dangers  at  every  turn ;  that  eternity  is  the  great- 
est danger  of  all,  and  you  cramp  and  handicap  his  soul  beyond 
repair.  He  will  never  get  over  the  disease  with  which  you  have 
inoculated  him  until  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave  he  learns 
that  you  did  him  an  injury  by  giving  him  a  falsehood  instead  of 
the  truth.  "  For  we  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth,  but  for 
the  truth."    2  Cor.  XII,  8. 

The  difference  between  a  belief  in  the  hobgoblins  who  infest 
the  night  and  friendly  angels  who  will  be  your  comrades  and 
guides,  marks  the  difference  between  a  soul  equipped  for  work 
and  a  soul  which  is  unfitted  for  work  by  the  fact  of  its  fears. 
The  more  fear  you  introduce  into  your  religion  the  less  useful 
and  effective  it  becomes.  I  cannot  conceive  of  a  Heavenly 
Father  with  anger  in  His  heart  or  a  whip  in  His  hand.  The 
God  whom  we  should  worship  is  never  wrathful ;  we  break  His 
laws,  and  the  broken  law  inflicts  the  punishment  we  deserve. 
But  all  the  while  that  we  suffer  in  consequence  of  our  folly, 
God  pities  us,  even  as  an  earthly  father  pities  his  children,  and 
brings  all  the  holy  influences  which  infinite  wisdom  can  suggest 
to  bear  on  our  wilful  soul,  that  we  may  return  to  the  right  rela- 
tion to  Him. 

A  drop  of  ink  in  a  goblet  of  spring  water  renders  it  unfit  and 
unwholesome  to  drink.  A  particle  of  fear  in  your  conception 
of  God  renders  true  worship  impossible.  You  must  not  be 
good  because  you  fear  to  be  bad,  or  your  goodness  will  be  arti- 
ficial.    The  fear  of  hell  is  not  the  true  way  to  heaven,  for  if  that 


Harmful  Fears.  503 

fear  is  in  your  heart  not  even  heaven  can  make  you  happy. 
Confidence  to  begin  with,  to  go  on  with,  to  end  with,  is  the  only 
basis  of  true  religion.  You  know  your  duty ;  you  know  that  the 
only  lasting  satisfaction  you  can  enjoy  will  be  found  in  doing 
that  duty ;  you  know  that  God  will  send  the  angels  to  assist  you 
in  every  difficult  task;  that  they  will  accompany  you  through 
life ;  that  they  will  never  make  a  mistake,  if  you  listen  to  them. 
**  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless :  I  will  come  to  you."  St. 
John  XIV,  18. 

Ninety-nine  hundredths  of  the  evil  in  this  world  is  the  result 
of  ignorance  and  bad  judgment.  The  man  who  thinks  he  knows 
better  than  the  Almighty  what  it  is  safe  to  do  is  like  the  grain 
of  corn  in  the  hopper  which  thinks  it  can  escape  being  ground 
between  the  upper  and  the  lower  millstones.  The  man  who 
cheats  his  neighbor  in  a  bargain  and  pockets  a  profit  thereby 
is  under  the  impression  that  the  advantage  is  on  his  side.  It 
is  a  mistake  of  judgment.  The  benefit  he  sought  will  turn  sour, 
like  milk  in  a  thunderstorm.  There  is  only  one  Ruler  in  the 
universe  and  you  are  not  He.  He  has  made  things  in  such  a 
fashion  that  when  you  follow  His  laws  you  float  securely  on  the 
current  of  the  sea,  and  when  you  become  a  law  unto  yourself 
you  finish  your  career  in  confessed  and  regretted  failure. 

Most  of  the  crimes  that  are  committed,  no  matter  what  their 
nature,  have  behind  them  as  a  motive  the  expectation  that  they 
will  help  the  man  who  commits  them.  It  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of  any  deed,  however  cowardly  or  vile,  which  has  not  this 
motive  at  the  root.  Lying,  selfishness,  avarice,  envy  are  under- 
taken for  a  hoped-for  good.  The  man  who  indulges  in  these  or 
other  vices  is  in  a  search  for  happiness  for  himself,  and  he  thinks 
he  can  accomplish  that  result.  He  never  does,  however,  and  he 
never  will ;  he  can  have  no  peace,  for  he  swallows  a  slow  poison 
with  the  vain  hope  of  becoming  rugged  and  healthy.  God  has 
made  this  world  beautiful,  and  all  He  asks  is  that  our  souls 
shall  also  be  beautiful.  If  we  can  smother  our  self-conceit; 
admit  that  his  laws  are  worth  obeying;  are  better  than  any 
laws  we  can  make  for  ourselves,  and  be  loyal  to  them  at  all 
hazards  and  costs,  we  shall  have  the  only  kind  of  religion  that 
can  save  us,  either  here  or  hereafter.    We  shall  be  courageous 


504  Book  of  Knowledge. 

and  strong  and  cheerful.    The  present  cannot  harm,  and  the 
future  will  be  a  joy. 

"  The  Son  of  Man  shall  send  forth  His  angels,  and  they  shall 
gather  out  of  His  kingdom  all  things  that  do  offend,  and  them 
which  do  iniquity."    St.  Matthew  XUI,  41. 


AFTER  DEATH. 

While  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  th& 
things  which  are  not  seen;  for  the  things  which  are  seen  are  tem- 
poral; hut  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.    Cor.  IV,  18. 

I  plead  for  a  religion  which  is  genuine.  You  are  constantly 
making  professions  of  a  faith  which  you  do  not  actually  possess. 
You  persuade  yourself  and  others  that  you  believe  and  can 
trust  your  belief,  and  forthwith  it  bends  and  breaks  Hke  a  rotten 
staff.  Once  make  the  text  a  part  of  your  soul  and  you  would 
be  transformed.  Life  would  assume  a  different  aspect.  You 
would  be  in  accord  with  the  Spirit  of  the  universe.  I  even 
assert  you  would  be  able  to  "  lay  aside  every  weight  with  eyes 
fixed  on  higher  truths."  You  would  overcome  the  "  sin  that 
doth  so  easily  beset  you ; "  live  to  a  ripe  old  age,  as  we  are 
evidently  intended  to,  and  "  run  with  patience  "  your  little  race 
until  the  "  Voice  "  should  tell  you  that  your  day's  work  is  done, 
and  summon  you  to  the  glorious  future. 

It  is  the  belief  in  a  day  after  death  which  makes  all  the  days 
before  death  joyful.  The  difference  between  a  to-morrow  of 
darkness  and  a  to-morrow  of  sunshine,  and  renewed  vigor  of 
health,  untouched  by  disease,  and  of  opportunities  never 
dreamed  of,  is  so  great  spiritually  that  it  cannot  be  expressed. 
The  years  may  come  and  go  as  they  will,  if  you  only  see  the 
**  Golden  Gate  "  in  the  distance,  and  on  the  far-away  hill-tops 
the  cloud  of  witnesses  who  have  guided  us  on  our  way  and  will 
take  us  by  the  hand  when  we  wake  from  slumber. 

The  heart  need  not  beat  like  a  muffled  drum,  as  though  we 
were  sorry  to  leave  these  lower  scenes,  for  if  we  are  right- 
minded,  we  shall  keep  step  to  the  echoing  music  of  a  better  world 


Harmful  Fears.  505 

and  be  more  and  more  glad  as  it  g^ows  louder,  because  we  are 
getting  nearer  to  our  higher  home. 

Our  spiritual  religion  and  knowledge  make  us  content  to 
live  and  be  ready  at  any  time  to  exchange  earth  life  for  the 
higher  life. 

"  Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the 
spirit  which  is  of  God :  That  we  might  know  the  things  that  are 
freely  given  to  us  of  God."    i  Cor.  II,  12. 


THE  UNITY  OF  FAITH. 

And  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is  the  same 
God  which  zvorkcth  all  in  all.    i  Cor.  XII,  6. 

When  we  discuss  the  essentials  of  religion  there  is  very 
little  difference  of  opinion.  It  is  about  the  insignificant  details 
that  we  quarrel.  When  you  declare  that  God  is  our  Father,  the 
statement  is  accepted  in  pretty  nearly  the  same  sense  by  the 
Christians  of  every  latitude  and  longitude.  The  word  father 
means  the  same  thing  to  all  of  us.  When  we  talk  about  duty 
there  is  barely  room  for  a  discussion  that  is  even  stimulating. 
It  is  a  practical  matter,  and  we  should  all  agree  as  to  what  it 
is.  No  man  can  doubt  that  we  ought  to  be  brave  and  chival- 
rous, honest,  loyal  and  faithful,  at  the  cost  of  great  sacrifices. 
When  we  speak  of  the  New  Testament  (I  take  our  spiritual 
facts — our  communications  between  the  two  worlds — from  the 
New  Testament)  we  may  differ  as  to  what  inspiration  is, 
whether  it  is  plenary  or  only  partial,  but  we  all  concede  that  a 
true  spiritual  life  is  a  life  of  holiness,  and  that  the  world  would 
be  better  if  it  drew  closer  to  the  ideal  which  our  spiritual  laws 
teach.  When  we  speak  of  punishment  you  may  have  one 
opinion  as  to  its  purposes  and  duration  and  I  may  have  another; 
but  as  to  the  fact,  we  stand  on  the  same  ground,  and  you  and 
I  both  believe  that  we  cannot  break  the  laws  of  the  universe 
without  incurring  serious  consequences,  and  that  the  only  way 
to  be  happy,  either  in  this  present  existence  or  in  any  other, 
is  to  do  what  we  know  to  be  right.  When  we  refer  to  heaven, 
our  ideas  depend  largely  on  our  early  education;  for  some  of 


5o6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

us  think  of  it  as  a  place  of  eternal  rest,  and  others  as  a  place 
of  eternal  activity  and  progress ;  but  we  are  all  alike  in  regard- 
ing it  as  a  higher  sphere  in  which  the  soul  will  expand  like  a 
rose  in  the  sunshine.  And  no  one  doubts  that  when  we  get 
there  we  shall  occupy  a  room  in  the  "  mansion  not  made  by 
hands,"  in  the  company  of  those  who  have  gone  before,  but 
whom  we  love  with  the  same  love  as  of  old. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  all  mere  sectarianism  is  un-Chris- 
tian.  I  have  a  right  to  travel  along  my  chosen  path  providing 
you  and  I  are  both  facing  the  rising  sun.  I  have  no  criticism  to 
make  of  you  if  you  reject  what  I  hold  dear,  and  whenever  I  can 
lend  you  a  helping  hand  I  am  bound  to  do  so,  or  I  am  not  a 
follower  of  our  common  Master.  There  is  but  one  church  on 
the  planet :  it  is  the  church  of  the  living  God.  There  is  but  one 
religion ;  the  religion  which  yokes  fatherhood  and  brotherhood 
together.  The  rankest  heresy,  the  only  heresy  that  is  known 
among  the  angels,  is  when  a  man  stops  work  to  find  fault  or 
condemn  his  neighbor  who  does  not  think  as  he  does.  I  have 
often  thought  that  the  various  sects  are  like  a  kaleidoscope. 
The  bits  of  glass  at  the  objective  end  are  always  the  same,  but 
when  you  look  through  the  eye  piece  and  turn  the  tube  they 
assume  different  relations  to  each  other,  and  by  means  of  the 
triangular  mirror  on  the  inside  present  entirely  different  pic- 
tures. At  one  turn  of  the  tube  you  have  a  beautiful  figure,  and 
at  another  turn  you  have  a  figure  equally  beautiful  but  quite  dif- 
ferent. As  we  look  at  the  different  branches  of  religion,  one 
turn  gives  us  Presbyterianism,  another  turn  gives  us  Catholi- 
cism, another  Episcopalianism.  But  remember  that  however 
you  turn  the  tube  the  particles  are  the  same  in  all;  it  is  only 
their  relation  to  each  other  that  changes.  These  changes  are 
the  various  isms,  but  the  particles  that  have  not  changed  and 
cannot  change  are  the  eternal  facts  on  which  all  mankind  sub- 
stantially agree.  I  do  not  care,  then,  what  church  you  worship 
in.  The  church  is  the  minor  detail,  but  the  worship  is  the  essen- 
tial concern.  I  should  feel  myself  a  heathen  if  I  could  not  kneel 
at  any  altar  where  prayers  are  uttered  and  say  my  prayers  in 
unison  with  all  the  others.  Names  are  of  no  account,  but  things 
are  important.     If  we  be  of  Christ  and  His  spiritual  teaching, 


Harmful  Fears.  507 

nothing  is  to  be  said,  no  fault  is  to  be  found.  If  we  love  the 
Master,  then  we  must  love  Him  all  the  more,  for  He  needs  it 
more.  All  religion  is  leaden  except  that  kind,  and  that  is  golden. 
We  do  not  dare  to  be  as  charitable  as  Christ  was.  It  requires 
more  courage  than  we  at  present  possess.  We  are  afraid  to 
be  as  good  as  v/e  know  how  to  be.  The  true  Christian  loves, 
forgives  and  helps,  and  in  doing  so  he  finds  the  peace  he  sought 
elsewhere,  but  never  found.  Heaven  ought  to  begin  in  this 
life,  and  will  so  begin  when  the  heart  is  tuned  to  the  universal 
law,  which  is  only  another  word  for  universal  love. 

"  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet,  and 
when  thou  hast  shut  the  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in 
secret,  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  thee 
openly."    St.  Matthew  VI,  6. 


THE  BREVITY  OF  LIFE. 

As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass.    Psalms  CIII,  15. 

When  you  consider  the  matter  seriously  you  are  startled  at 
the  brevity  of  our  human  life.  Subtract  the  years  that  are 
spent  in  childhood  and  early  youth,  before  either  the  physical 
or  mental  system  is  equipped  for  its  struggle,  and  subtract  still 
further  that  mysterious  third  of  our  term  which  is  spent  in 
sweet  sleep  and  pleasant  dreams,  and  there  are  but  a  score  of 
summers  and  winters  between  the  cradle  and  the  tomb.  One 
listens  to  the  chimes  that  beckon  to  the  ideal,  and  while  listen- 
ing they  become  a  mere  echo  which  loses  itself  in  eternity.  God 
has  set  us  the  task  of  writing  a  symphony,  but  there  is  only 
time  to  write  the  motif,  and  possibly  to  hum  a  few  airs,  when 
the  eyes  grow  dull  and  we  fall  asleep,  leaving  our  glad  task 
unfinished.  As  Solomon  said,  "  The  same  thing  happeneth  to 
us  all."  What  is  the  thing  that  happens  to  us  all?  On  the 
answer  to  this  question  depends  our  outlook.  If  the  decision 
of  heart  and  mind  is  favorable  it  is  Hke  putting  the  watch- 
spring  into  the  watch  and  winding  it  up.  It  is  like  telling  the 
traveller  to  enjoy  the  scenery  as  best  he  can,  but  assuring  him 
that  there  are  far  higher  mountains  and  wider  landscapes  be- 


5o8  Book  of  Knowledge, 

yond.  It  is  like  telling  the  musician  to  hearken  to  the  organ 
peal  in  the  church,  but  assuring  him  that  when  he  hears  the 
angel  chorus  sing,  and  kneels  in  the  larger  temple,  he  will  be 
filled  with  emotions,  in  comparison  with  which  these  are  but 
the  throbs  of  a  longing  and  unsatisfied  heart.  On  the  contrary, 
if  the  decision  is  unfavorable,  our  human  Hfe  is  a  useless  and 
needless  struggle  with  adversity;  we  are  the  slaves  of  a  bitter 
fate,  and  our  taskmaster  swings  his  lacerating  thong  with  some- 
thing that  resembles  vengeance.  Our  years  are  prolonged 
misery,  with  the  deep  shadow  of  annihilation  hanging  above  it 
like  a  storm  cloud  filled  with  fiery  bolts.  The  raven  perches 
above  our  chamber  door  and  croaks  its  song  of  "  Nevermore." 
The  pulse  falls  below  its  normal  beat,  and  health,  moral  and 
physical,  is  impossible.  The  sun  mocks  us  by  day  and  the 
moon  by  night.  We  must  needs  love,  for  the  soul  cannot  live 
without  it,  but  the  long  corridor  of  our  being  is  haunted  with 
ghosts,  and  the  air  vibrates  to  the  tearful  word,  "  farewell." 
Love  becomes  only  an  incentive  to  weep,  for  the  joys  of  love 
are  but  the  precursor  of  an  eternal  shadow.  I  am  convinced  that 
if  this  life  is  all  it  was  a  grave  mistake  to  bestow  it.  It  is  my 
impression  that  nearly  all  thoughtful  men  and  women  agree  with 
me.  Life  is  made  up  of  alternate  smiles  and  tears.  Our  happiness 
resembles  the  scattered  moments  of  sunshine  on  a  cloudy  day; 
and  what  do  these  tears  and  smiles  amount  to,  if  they  are  all  there 
is  in  the  treasury  of  God,  and  all  He  intends  to  apportion  to  us? 
The  ordinary  life,  the  average  life,  has  more  weeds  in  it  than 
flowers.  From  the  time  the  eyes  open  to  an  intelligent  view  up 
to  the  hour  when  our  friends  gather  to  whisper  "  He  is  dead," 
we  wrestle  with  circumstances,  breaking  forth  into  laughter  at 
one  moment  and  the  next  striving  in  the  pressure  of  a  misfortune ; 
disturbed  by  inharmonious  surroundings  and  trying  bravely  to 
make  the  best  of  them ;  at  the  end  wondering  what  it  all  means, 
or  if  it  means  anything.  If  there  is  no  more,  if  the  story  is  to 
be  finished  before  it  is  half  told  and  just  as  we  have  become  in- 
terested in  it;  if  our  sweetest  relations  to  each  other  are  honey 
to-day  and  will  be  wormwood  to-morrow,  then  I  dare  to  say  that 
our  seventy  years  are  not  profitable,  and  are  not  worth  having. 
Better  never  be  at  all  tlian  only  be  what  we  are  now.    Why  should 


Harmful  Fears.  509 

you  sacrifice  for  the  maintenance  of  your  integrity,  why  light 
the  lamp  of  conscience  and  keep  the  wick  trimmed  through  the 
dreary  night,  if  there  is  no  morning?  Why  not  drift  carelessly 
whither  the  current  may  take  us  ?  All  this  painstaking  is  in  vain. 
It  is  like  hoarding  gold  and  being  despoiled  of  it  by  the  robber 
Death.  It  is  trying  to  be  a  hale  and  hearty  man  when  your 
manhood  is  a  mere  chimera.  But  let  some  angel  guide  you  to 
a  different  vantage  ground  of  observation.  Let  him  draw  aside 
the  curtain  of  time  and  give  you  a  glimpse  of  eternity.  Let  him 
touch  your  blind  eyes,  as  Jesus  touched  the  eyes  of  the  peasant, 
and  bid  you  look  at  the  things  which  some  are  permitted  to  see. 
There  stretches  the  road  you  are  to  travel;  you  cannot  see  the 
end  for  there  is  none.  A  new  life  in  a  new  environment  is  to  be 
yours,  and  in  that  other  life  you  shall  be  your  nobler,  grander  self, 
if  you  lay  the  foundations  for  it  in  the  character  that  is  to  be 
fashioned  by  these  smiles  and  tears  which  no  longer  seem  insig- 
nificant. Far,  far  away  in  the  dazzling  distance  you  see  the 
outline  of  that  house  of  which  the  Scriptures  tell  us,  the  resting 
place  of  weary  souls,  beyond  whose  threshold  there  is  a  peace 
that  passeth  understanding.  It  is  home  again  with  your  loved 
ones,  our  angel  friends. 

"  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions :  if  it  were  not  so 
I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you/*  St. 
John  XIV,  2. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

THE   MAN   WHO  LOOKS   OUT  OF  YOUR  EYES. 

Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  knowing  that,  whilst  we 
are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord.  2  Cor. 
V,6. 

How  odd  and  yet  how  natural  it  is  we  should  always  put  the 
body  before  the  soul,  in  our  endeavor  to  make  the  present  life 
comfortable  and  satisfactory.  There  is  a  visible  and  there  is  an 
invisible.  As  one  of  the  barbarian  tribes  of  Africa  has  it,  "  The 
man  who  looks  out  of  your  eyes."  The  first  monopolizes  our 
attention;  the  other  receives  only  a  passing  thought.  We  are 
under  a  persistent  illusion  that  the  first  is  real,  while  the  second 
is  more  or  less  mythical,  whereas  the  exact  opposite  is  the  truth. 
To  this  visible  man  we  devote  all  our  ingenuity ;  we  see  that  he 
is  well  fed,  clothed  and  housed;  we  devote  ourselves  to  making 
him  happy;  we  surround  him  with  all  the  luxuries  and  con- 
veniences which  can  be  invented.  We  have  stolen  power  from 
the  clouds,  fuel  from  the  depths  of  the  earth,  and  laid  the  fields 
and  forests  under  tribute  for  his  enjoyment.  We  have  done  so 
much  for  him  that  I  am  not  far  from  right  in  declaring  this  to 
be  an  age  of  miracles.  Indeed,  he  has  absorbed  so  large  a  part 
of  our  time  and  thought  that  we  have  neglected  the  welfare  of 
the  man  who  looks  out  of  our  eyes,  ignored  his  necessities,  and 
left  him  to  care  for  himself  as  best  he  can.  We  even  go  so  far 
as  to  believe  that  we  shall  be  happy  if  we  can  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  physical  and  sensuous.  To  this  end  we  constantly  struggle 
and  most  of  us  die  before  our  purpose  is  attained.  We  say  to 
ourselves  that  we  shall  be  supremely  happy  when  we  have  earned 
the  fortune  which  will  purchase  the  longed-for  environments,  a 
house,  equipage,  pictures  and  the  thousand  other  things  which 
we  think  are  to  be  coveted.  Then  when  we  change  our  dream 
into  reality  and  possess  the  power  to  gratify  every  wish,  we  meet 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  511 

with  surprise  and  disappointment.  We  are  not  satisfied  as  we 
expected  to  be.  We  have  toiled  for  what  seemed  to  be  a  substance 
but  it  turns  out  to  be  a  shadow.  Happiness  is  not  found  in  what 
the  merely  physical  man  can  enjoy.  The  only  true  man  is  the 
one  who  looks  out  of  our  eyes ;  the  one  of  whom  we  have  taken 
so  little  account ;  the  one  whose  highest  aspirations  we  have  sac- 
rificed in  order  to  acquire  a  lesser,  an  inferior  satisfaction.  "  But 
let  every  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall  he  have  re- 
joicing in  himself  alone,  and  not  in  another."  Galatians  VI,  4. 
We  shall  never  know  happiness  until  we  recognize  this  fact, 
throw  aside  our  false  philosophy  and  pursue  a  nobler  policy.  Re- 
ligion has  been  warning  us  all  along  that  we  must  attend  to  the 
wants  of  this  second  man,  but  so  forceful  has  been  our  unbelief 
that  we  have  regarded  religion  as  something  to  die  by,  but  not  to 
live  by ;  a  very  disagreeable  and  distasteful  something  which  for- 
bids the  pleasures  in  which  we  take  delight  and  enjoins  duties 
which  are  peculiarly  irksome.  All  this  is  the  result  of  false  think- 
ing. We  are  obsessed  by  convictions  which,  like  an  "  ignis 
fatuus,"  lead  us  astray.  We  have  heretofore  believed  and  acted 
on  the  belief  that  we  are  a  body  with  a  soul  in  it,  but  the  truth 
is  we  are  a  soul  with  a  body  for  an  overcoat.  To  devote  our- 
selves to  the  overcoat  and  neglect  the  soul  would  seem  to  be  a 
whim  of  irrational  folly,  and  yet  that  is  what  we  have  been  doing 
and  are  doing  now.  The  worship  of  the  overcoat — that  is  our 
religion.  And  the  hardest  task  we  have  to  perform  is  to  get  far 
enough  away  from  the  overcoat  to  recognize  the  fact  that  we 
have  a  soul.  We  are  hypnotized  by  the  body ;  it  has  made  us  its 
servant,  its  slave,  and  in  some  cases  our  slavery  is  of  the  most 
abject  kind.  The  man  who  looks  out  of  our  eyes  is  our  real 
self.  He  is  imprisoned  for  a  time  in  the  body  and  we  look 
so  carefully  after  the  prison  that  we  almost  forget  there  is  a 
prisoner.  But  the  hour  will  arrive  when  the  prison  will  crumble 
and  then  the  emancipated  prisoner  will  go  free.  What  is  on  the 
outside  of  a  man  may  add  somewhat  to  his  happiness,  but  it  can- 
not produce  it.  It  may  increase  his  opportunities  to  acquire  a 
blessing  by  giving  a  blessing;  but  unless  what  is  inside  is  satisfied 
life  must  needs  be  a  failure.  I  can  make  a  stronger  statement 
and  still  be  within  the  limits  of  exact  truth.     If  the  man  who 


512  Book  of  Knowledge. 

looks  out  of  your  eyes  is  contented,  you  have  very  little  more  to 
ask  of  kind  heaven,  though  perchance  your  larder  may  be  well 
nigh  empty,  but  if  that  man  is  not  contented,  he  cannot  be  made 
so  by  a  dozen  of  gold  mines  and  by  all  that  they  are  able  to  pur- 
chase. We  are  living  body  lives  not  soul  lives.  Our  time  is  spent 
not  so  much  on  a  sensual  as  on  a  sensuous  plane.  Thoughts,  be- 
liefs, aspirations,  are  not  regarded  as  a  fortune,  to  be  worked 
for  or  dreamed  of  as  a  "  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished  " ; 
they  have  no  value  which  excites  covetousness ;  on  the  contrary, 
we  regard  the  possessor  of  these  treasures  as  peculiar,  eccentric, 
possibly  unbalanced.  But  stocks  and  bonds  and  houses — ^these 
are  the  real  coin,  and  in  order  to  acquire  them  we  make  all  sac- 
rifices, run  the  risk  of  breaking  down  in  middle  life,  rob  the  soul 
of  its  honor  and  self-respect.  I  do  not  scorn  the  body,  but  I  honor 
the  man  who  looks  out  of  your  eyes.  Guard  both  with  vigilance, 
but  especially  the  latter. 

The  real  man  is  the  immortal  man  who  will  some  day  move 
out  of  his  body.  Him  1  ought  to  cherish,  educate  and  develop. 
He  must  be  nourished  by  noble  thoughts  and  unselfish  aims.  He 
is  really  all  I  am.  With  everything  else  I  shall  sometime  part 
company,  but  with  him  never.  And  when  what  we  call  death 
comes  to  demand  of  him  the  surrender  of  the  body,  that  is  his 
overcoat,  he  will  then  begin  a  broader  and  grander  life,  in  com- 
parison with  which  this  is  only  the  primary  school  of  his  child- 
hood. 

"  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat 
which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life,  which  the  son  of  man  will 
give  unto  you."    St.  John  VI,  27. 


A  VITAL  FAITH. 

Thy  faith  hath  made  thee  whole.    Matthew  IX,  22. 

We  can  easily  understand  that  faith  is  a  sovereign  remedy  for 
all  the  ills  of  the  mind,  producing  contentment,  resignation  and 
peace,  but  as  a  remedy  for  the  ills  of  the  body,  not  even  the  nine- 
teen centuries  since  Christ  walked  our  earth  have  prepared  us  for 
its  acceptance.     The  assertion  of  the  text  still  startles  us.     We 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  513 

are  not  equipped  to  discuss  the  matter  intelligently.  The  state- 
ment seems  to  be  a  contradiction  of  natural  law  as  we  apprehend 
it,  but  it  may  be  in  accord  with  a  higher  range  of  natural  laws,  of 
which  we  have  as  yet  only  a  dim  glimpse.  The  subject  has  a 
growing  interest.  It  has  been  asserted  by  those  who  think  they 
know,  that  faith  is  a  decreasing  quantity,  and  there  is  a  boast  in 
the  air  that  the  less  faith  we  have  the  more  reasonable  we  are. 
This  however  is  an  illusion.  Confidence  in  dogmas  may  have  lost 
its  hold,  but  confidence  in  fundamental  principles  is  a  flooding  tide. 
Men  are  searching  the  universe  with  telescope  and  microscope  to 
find  out  the  truth  of  things.  They  have  followed  the  road  of  the 
finite  far  enough  to  discover  that  somewhere  there  must  be  an  in- 
finite, and  they  are  beginning  to  feel  that  the  goal  will  not  be 
reached  until  the  finite  and  the  infinite  clasp  hands.  When  that 
end  is  reached  we  shall  have  many  a  secret  which  we  now  grope 
for  in  the  dark,  a  religion  to  be  trusted  in  all  emergencies,  as  the 
captain  of  a  vessel  trusts  the  North  Star,  and  a  faith  so  perfect 
that  we  can  live  above  temptation  and  die  with  a  smile  on  our  lips. 
I  learn  through  reading  that  at  the  siege  of  Bude,  in  1625,  the 
garrison  was  in  the  direst  straits.  The  scurvy  had  become  epi- 
demic, and  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  left  but  surrender.  The 
Prince  saved  the  day  by  an  appeal  to  the  faith  of  his  soldiers. 
He  administered  a  few  drops  of  pure  water  (God's  water),  to  the 
afflicted,  assuring  them  that  it  was  an  infallible  cure  for  the  dread 
disease.  (How  did  that  Prince  know  whether  the  angel  world 
did  not  put  something  in  that  water  to  make  them  well  ?  I  have 
known  such  to  be  the  case).  Such  was  the  confidence  in  the 
remedy  that  the  effect  produced  was  immediate.  The  garrison 
was  made  whole  in  a  few  days,  and  as  a  fighting  force  it  was 
ready  for  victory.  The  means  which  achieved  this  result  was 
not  a  drug  but  a  thought.  In  some  way  yet  unknown  to  science, 
the  belief  that  a  cure  had  been  found  was  closely  followed  by 
the  cure  itself,  and  those  in  whom  actual  disease  had  been  pro- 
duced by  one  state  of  mind — namely,  hopelessness — were  restored 
to  health  by  another  and  a  better  state  of  mind.  (I  could  accept 
Christian  Science  if  they  could  give  something  after  what  we 
call  death  but  they  do  not).  The  incident  amply  illustrates  the 
power  of  faith  to  rouse  the  stagnant  pool  of  physical  vitality  and 


514  Book  of  Knowledge. 

change  into  a  swift  flowing  current  of  healthy  and  vigorous 
life.  The  pages  of  history  are  full  of  corroborating  testimony. 
In  the  annals  of  every  religion  are  innumerable  instances  of  the 
same  sort.  Underneath  them  is  a  spiritual  law  which  we  have 
persistently  ignored,  but  a  law  which  holds  in  its  grasp  our  hap- 
piness, our  health  and  our  usefulness.  We  shall  accept  it  by  and 
by,  when  our  eyes  are  wider  open,  but  in  the  meantime  we  must 
suffer  needlessly,  because  we  are  blinded  by  prejudice.  The  logic 
of  our  writing  seems  to  me  perfectly  clear  and  irresistible,  and 
the  declaration  of  Christ  that  her  faith  hath  made  the  woman 
whole  is  as  simply  true  as  that  a  magnet  attracts  bits  of  iron. 

God  made  the  universe :  therefore,  in  a  well  defined  sense,  the 
universe  is  saturated  with  power  and  wisdom,  beauty  and  love. 
We  look  at  the  flower,  the  harvest,  the  ocean,  and  we  see — God. 
Man  was  also  made  by  God,  and  is  the  bit  of  iron  which  has  in 
it  the  mysterious  essence  of  the  magnet.  As  the  iron  and  the 
magnet  are  drawn  to  each  other,  so  are  God  and  the  human  soul. 
If  the  iron  surrounds  itself  with  a  non-conducting  substance,  it 
becomes  a  stranger  to  the  magnet  and  is  not  influenced  by  it; 
but  if  it  throws  off  the  non-conductor  it  is  transformed  and  the 
life  of  the  magnet  is  felt  in  every  particle.  The  soul  is  to-day 
encased  in  the  non-conductor  of  doubt  and  selfishness  and  greed. 
The  purpose  of  religion — spiritual  laws — is  to  destroy  the  foreign 
and  debasing  substances  and  open  the  heart  to  the  entrance  of 
God  and  the  dear  angels,  and  our  loved  ones  that  they  may  be- 
come one — enjoying  the  presence  of  the  Holy  power. 

Perfect  faith  makes  you  a  partaker  of  God's  power  and  wis- 
dom. It  changes  your  whole  outlook.  You  and  the  loved  ones 
go  hand  in  hand  through  life,  through  trouble,  sorrow,  bereave- 
ment; and  hand  in  hand  through  the  valley  of  shadows  into  the 
sunlit  land  of  eternity.  No  one  can  be  at  his  best  self  until  he 
has  that  kind  of  faith.  Then  earth  has  a  new  charm,  and  you 
have  an  aim  to  work  for,  to  be  reunited  with  our  loved  ones  in 
the  life  beyond. 

"  It  is  sown  a  natural  body ;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There 
is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body."    i  Cor.  XV,  44. 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes,  515 

CHRIST  RELIGION. 
The  kingdom  of  God  is  come  unto  you.    Matthew  XII,  28. 

I  have  recently  been  pondering  some  phases  of  modern  reli- 
gious thought.  What  a  new  light  it  throws  on  our  struggles  and 
bereavements.  What  encouragement  and  happiness  it  brings  and 
what  a  bright  outlook  it  gives  us  for  the  future  of  this  life  and 
that  of  the  next  life !  What  would  our  fathers  say  if  they  could 
come  back  and  see  how  different  our  spiritual  religion  is  from 
that  which  saddened  their  lives?  It  may  also  be  said  that  our 
God  is  not  their  God  whom  they  worshiped.  Our  attitude  towards 
Him  and  His  attitude  towards  us  have  been  so  widened  and  so 
brightened  that  religion  has  ceased  to  be  a  duty  and  has  become  a 
privilege.  We  stand  in  no  fear,  for  the  word  King  has  been 
changed  to  Father.  There  was  a  certain  hardness  in  the  con- 
ception of  Him  which  was  once  entertained,  which  has  all  dis- 
appeared and  an  uplifting  tenderness  has  taken  its  place.  They 
of  the  olden  time  approached  Him  with  such  a  sense  of  awe  that 
a  kind  of  cathedral  gloom  spread  over  their  lives.  They  empha- 
sized might  and  thought  only  of  what  omnipotence  could  do. 
They  regarded  themselves  as  worthless  atoms  and  pictured  the 
next  world  as  a  strange  unnatural  place,  in  which  it  would  be 
impossible  for  a  soul  accustomed  to  things  of  this  life  to  feel 
at  home.  Heaven  would  undoubtedly  be  beautiful  with  its 
golden  streets  and  jasper  gates,  but  an  altogether  new  country 
with  curious  habits  and  customs,  which  cause  it  to  be  regarded 
with  a  feeling  akin  to  terror.  There  was  so  much  thunder  and 
lightning  in  the  creed  that  one  accepted  it  with  blanched  cheek 
and  trembling  lips;  accepted  it  because  he  dare  not  do  other- 
wise; because  the  consequences  of  doubting  it  were  too  terrible 
to  describe  or  contemplate. 

The  progress  which  has  been  made  in  these  matters  has  been 
like  the  rising  of  the  sun  over  the  hill-tops.  The  genial  rays  of 
a  larger  knowledge  have  dissipated  the  darkness  and  we  are 
coming  into  the  almost  perfect  day.  Our  worship  is  the  worship 
of  thanksgiving,  and  we  are  like  the  children  who  sit  at  the 


Si6  Book  of  Knowledge. 

father's  knee  to  tell  the  doings  of  the  day  and  to  receive  such 
warning  and  advice  as  may  seem  to  be  necessary. 

Our  religion  is  full  of  good  cheer  and  gladness.  It  is  not  a 
preventive  of  possible  ills  which  may  befall  us  after  death,  but  a 
philosophy  of  the  present,  which  teaches  us  to  make  the  best  of 
our  human  experiences,  and  to  tell  us  that  he  who  loves  God  to- 
day will  surely  be  loved  of  God  to-morrow.  I  am  profoundly 
convinced  that  there  is  more  reaching  out  for  real  religion  to-day 
than  ever  before;  a  deeper  thirst  for  spiritual  knowledge  and  a 
stronger  desire  to  make  that  kind  of  religion  the  practical  basis 
of  every-day  action.  In  a  word,  we  are  slowly  groping  through 
the  gloom  of  theological  speculation  into  the  Divine  presence  of 
the  Christ.  We  are  not  very  close  to  Him  as  yet,  but  near  enough 
to  dream  of  the  blessedness  which  will  fill  the  world  when  we 
shall  come  to  really  understand  His  word.  He  was  a  mystery 
to  our  fathers ;  He  is  more  or  less  a  mystery  to  us ;  but  the  time 
is  coming  when  the  New  Testament  will  be  embodied  in  a  new 
life,  social  and  political,  and  when  our  poor  humanity  will  be 
irradiated  with  divine  influences  which  have  scarcely  crossed  the 
threshold  of  humanity  as  yet. 

Religion — the  religion  which  our  children's  children  will  en- 
joy— will  be  the  perfect  day  in  the  morning  twilight  of  which  we 
are  now  living.  If  there  are  some  who  think  that  we  have  out- 
grown the  Christ  I  can  only  answer  that  we  have  not  touched 
the  lower  hem  of  His  garment ;  that  He  is  still  the  world's  great 
puzzle ;  that  we  have  almost  no  conception  at  all  of  that  wondrous 
philosophy  proclaimed  by  the  lips  of  revelation,  which  will  do 
away  with  all  physical  disease  by  the  mastery  of  the  spirit  over 
the  body,  and  which  will  lift  our  souls,  shrivelled  by  base  thoughts 
and  ignoble  purposes  into  a  manhood  and  womanhood  which 
to-day  are  only  the  dream  of  the  poet  or  the  vision  of  the  prophet. 
It  makes  life  brighter  to  think  of  God  as  friend  and  father,  and 
to  be  able  to  go  to  Him  in  a  prayer,  which  like  an  outstretched 
hand  grasps  at  a  sure  support,  and  not  only  brighter  but  stronger. 
Great  deeds  are  possible ;  great  temptations  can  be  resisted ;  great 
suffering  can  be  borne  when  to  your  feeble  heart  God  is  not  a 
myth  but  a  reality.  To  be  sure  of  Him  is  to  make  Him  sure  of 
you.  He  is  willing  to  give  you  all  you  need,  if  you  are  willing  to 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  517 

put  yourself  in  a  condition  to  receive  the  gifts.  I  scarcely  dare 
think  what  the  real  man  of  God  may  be  able  to  do,  for  even  Christ 
has  only  darkly  hinted  at  it.  But  of  this  I  am  sure,  he  will  live  in 
perfect  health  and  will  die  as  one  goes  to  sleep  and  wake  up  in 
heaven.  And  to  feel  that  His  Spiritual  presence  is  round  about 
you  and  that  you  are  never  alone,  and  that  He  and  our  loved 
ones  are  glad  with  you  and  sorry  with  you — ^how  the  thought 
lightens  our  burdens  and  doubles  our  happiness.  What  an  in- 
spiration is  the  thought  that  the  God  Power  is  at  our  command 
if  we  do  right,  and  what  we  are  called  on  to  bear  is  not  the  result 
of  accident  but  of  eternal  wisdom.  How  your  nerves  tingle 
when  the  conviction  steals  into  your  mind  and  what  consciousness 
of  power  it  affords. 

And  then  one  other  thought;  suppose  we  felt  sure  that  He 
really  does  send  His  angels — our  loved  ones — to  guard  our  foot- 
steps, that  the  partition  wall  between  us  and  the  other  world  is 
merely  a  fabric  of  the  imagination,  and  that  the  two  worlds  are 
practically  one,  and  all  about  you,  in  your  home,  your  struggles, 
your  business,  your  sorrows,  are  invisible  beings  who  know  you 
as  you  do  not  know  them,  who  are  interested  in  your  welfare, 
and  who  surround  you  with  their  influence;  whose  energy  is  in- 
calculable and  whose  kindliness  is  unfathomed. 

The  thought  is  like  the  parting  of  the  clouds;  it  is  like  a  star- 
light night ;  it  is  like  distant  music  whose  echoes  reach  your  ears 
and  fill  the  heart  with  hope.  When  shall  we  believe  all  this?, 
The  Christ  believed  it  and  went  to  Calvary  without  a  murmur, 
because  Calvary  was  on  the  road  to  heaven.  We  must  believe 
it  also  or  we  will  never  become  His  true  followers.  Our  paths, 
too,  lead  through  Gethsemane,  but  it  is  only  a  resting  place  on 
the  road  to  glory.  We  want  to  understand  more  of  the  Christ 
Spiritual  teaching;  still  more,  and  then  our  lives  will  be  trans- 
figured. 

"  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  Spirit 
of  man  which  is  in  him?"    I  Cor.  H,  11. 


$i&  Book  of  Knowledge. 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN. 

Then  opened  He  their  understanding  that  they  might  under- 
stand the  Scripture.    St.  Luke  XXIV,  43. 

In  quoting  the  difficult  passages  in  the  New  Testament  to 
many  of  the  members  of  the  different  denominations,  they  do 
not  get  the  same  understanding  from  them  as  I  do,  or  as  I  get 
from  the  Holy  Power  that  guides  me,  and  when  we  explain  it 
to  them,  they  seem  astonished  that  they  did  not  understand  it  so. 
So  in  looking  over  a  book  I  came  across  this  conversation  be- 
tween Hon.  H.  C.  Deming  and  President  Lincoln,  which  will  be 
interesting  to  many  dear  readers,  proving  that  President  Lincoln 
did  understand  and  the  others  did  not ;  also  proving  by  his  noble 
life  and  his  devotion  to  humanity,  that  he  was  one  of  His  dis- 
ciples, and  no  one  can  deny  that  he  was  a  true  follower  of  Christ 
and  His  teachings. 

"  On  one  occasion,  I  shall  never  forget,"  said  the  Hon.  H.  C. 
Deming,  of  Connecticut.  "  The  conversation  turned  upon  reli- 
gious subjects  and  Mr.  Lincoln  made  this  impressive  remark :  *  I 
have  never  united  myself  to  any  church,  because  I  have  found 
difficulty  in  giving  my  assent,  without  mental  reservation,  to  the 
long  complicated  statements  of  Christian  doctrine  which  charac- 
terize their  Articles  of  Belief  and  Confession  of  Faith. 

"  *  When  any  church  will  inscribe  over  its  altar,  as  its  sole 
qualification  for  membership,'  he  continued,  '  the  Saviour's  con- 
densed statement  of  the  substance  of  both  law  and  gospel :  "  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord,  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  that 
church  will  I  join  with  all  my  heart  and  soul.  I  am  not  a  Christian 
— God  knows  I  would  be  one — but  I  have  carefully  read  the 
Bible,  and  I  do  not  so  understand  this  book ' :  and  he  drew  forth 
a  pocket  New  Testament.  *  These  men  well  know,*  he  continued, 
*  that  I  am  for  freedom  in  the  territories,  freedom  everywhere  as 
free  as  the  constitution  and  the  laws  will  permit,  and  that  my 
opponents  are  for  slavery.  They  know  this,  and  yet,  with  this 
book  in  their  hands,  in  the  light  of  which  human  bondage  cannot 
live  a  moment,  they  are  going  to  vote  against  me :  I  do  not  under- 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  519 

stand  it  at  all/  Here  Mr.  Lincoln  paused — paused  for  long  min- 
utes— his  features  surcharged  with  emotion.  Then  he  arose  and 
walked  up  and  down  the  reception  room,  in  the  effort  to  retain 
or  regain  his  self-possession.  Stopping  at  last,  he  said,  with  a 
trembling  voice  and  his  cheeks  wet  with  tears,  '  I  know  there  is 
a  God,  and  that  He  hates  injustice  and  slavery.  I  see  the  storm 
coming,  and  I  know  that  His  hand  is  in  it.  If  He  has  a  place  and 
work  for  me — I  think  He  has — I  believe  I  am  ready.  I  am  noth- 
ing, but  truth  is  everything.  I  know  I  am  right,  because  I  know 
that  liberty  is  right,  for  Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  of  God. 
I  have  told  them  that  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand ; 
and  Christ  and  reason  say  the  same;  and  they  will  find  it  out. 
Douglass  don't  care  whether  slavery  is  voted  up  or  down.  But 
God  cares,  and  humanity  cares,  and  I  care ;  and  with  God's  help 
I  shall  not  fail.  I  may  not  see  the  end;  but  it  will  come,  and  I 
shall  be  vindicated:  and  these  men  will  find  that  they  have  not 
read  their  Bible  aright.'  " 

'•  And  I  seek  not  mine  own  glory :  there  is  one  that  seeketh 
and  judgeth."    St.  John  VHI,  50. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  if  a  man  keep  my  saying,  he 
will  never  see  death."    St.  John  VHI,  51. 


GOD'S   KINGDOM. 

Thy  kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in 
Heaven.    St.  Matthew  VI,  10. 

Of  course  the  progress  being  made  in  all  our  material  interests 
absorbs  and  excites  our  wonder.  We  have  not  only  discovered 
new  natural  forces  but  are  making  use  of  them  in  such  a  fashion 
that  the  rarest  luxuries  of  yesterday  are  the  common  comforts  of 
to-day.  If  life  is  to  be  reckoned  by  opportunities  rather  than  by 
the  "  figures  on  the  dial "  we  are  lengthening  its  span  by  every 
new  invention.  The  man,  who  instead  of  spending  a  week  in 
travelling  from  New  York  to  Boston,  does  his  business  in  five 
minutes  by  telephone,  has  added  to  his  life  by  just  the  amount 
of  time  saved.    He  may  not  literally  have  stretched  his  seventy 


520  Book  of  Knowledge, 

years  to  a  hundred,  but  he  has  crowded  into  them  the  experience 
which  his  grandfather  would  not  have  had  in  a  century. 

Great  as  these  advances  are,  however,  they  are  minute  in  com- 
parison with  the  strides  which  have  been  taken  in  religious  con- 
cerns. We  not  only  have  more  religion  than  our  forefathers  but 
we  have  a  wider,  more  wholesome  religion.  And  yet,  the  spiritual 
laws  which  we  enjoy  and  think  so  marvellous  are  meagre  and 
vague  and  dim  when  measured  by  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 
A  thousand  years  are  only  a  dream  in  the  night,  a  mere  particle 
in  the  great  aggregate  of  Eternity,  and  no  man  living  can  conceive 
of  what  the  next  generation  from  now  will  know  concerning 
earth  and  heaven.  That  it  will  look  upon  us  with  something 
like  pity  for  our  ignorance,  just  as  we  look  upon  the  good  folks 
who  worshiped  the  gods  of  Olympus,  goes  without  saying.  Would 
it  be  too  much  to  predict  that  they  of  the  coming  time  will  all 
be  able  to  demonstrate  the  difference  between  soul  and  body  and 
show  that  they  are  two  different  entities,  as  easily  as  the  chemist 
of  to-day  separates  the  oxygen  and  the  nitrogen  in  a  cup  of 
water!  Or  that  they  will  make  such  startling  discoveries  that 
when  a  man  is  in  the  proper  condition,  he  can  see  the  air  filled 
with  spiritual  beings  who  walked  the  earth  unseen,  as  the  old 
prophet  did  when  he  became  inspired.  That  power  is  given  to  a 
great  many  now,  but  think  of  what  it  will  be.  Life,  our  human 
life,  will  be  quite  another  thing  from  what  it  is  now;  higher, 
grander,  nobler.  Or  that  heaven  and  earth — that  is,  God  and 
man — will  be  in  such  relations  with  each  other  that  we  shall  look 
on  our  burdens  and  griefs  with  dearer  eyes;  and  knowing  what 
they  mean,  use  them  for  the  development  of  qualities  which  now 
seem  to  be  mere  possibilities,  and  of  which  we  only  catch  a 
glimpse  now  and  then. 

It  does  us  good,  it  is  a  decided  encouragement  to  feel  that 
the  road  to  the  higher  life,  to  eternal  truth,  is  not  so  long.  God 
has  in  store  for  us  many  things,  which  are  being  revealed  slowly, 
but,  as  Jesus  said,  "  Ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  St.  John  XVI, 
12.  There  is  no  logic  in  these  statements  which  seems  to  be  irre- 
sistible. It  is  the  logic  of  evolution  which  may  be  slow  in  its 
processes  but  is  sure  to  reach  the  goal  at  last.  Let  me  illustrate. 
The  world  is  full  of  the  unseen  but  not  of  the  invisible.     What 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  521 

was  unseen  by  our  fathers  has  become  dear  to  us,  and  what  is 
unseen  to  us  will  be  dear  to  our  children.  The  near-sighted  man 
sees  little,  but  when  he  wears  spectacles  he  sees  more.  The 
myriads  of  beings  in  a  drop  of  water  are  unseen  until  we  use  the 
microscope,  and  then  new  realms  break  on  our  view.  The  heavens 
are  a  sealed  book  until  we  look  through  the  telescope,  and  then 
we  are  overwhelmed.  More  and  more  of  the  invisible  is  becoming 
visible  every  day.  Is  there  any  limit  to  our  discoveries?  If  we 
live  long  enough  in  the  body  may  we  not  see  all  the  things  some 
day  ?  Look  at  the  Christ.  What  did  He  know  and  see  ?  So  much 
that  even  He  did  not  think  it  wise  to  tell  all.  We  have  been  trying 
to, digest  His  philosophy  of  life  for  many  ages,  but  have  only 
succeeded  in  getting  ourselves  into  a  theological  snarl.  He  wanted 
to  tell  us  how  to  live,  but  we  have  persuaded  ourselves  that  His 
only  purpose  was  to  tell  us  what  to  believe.  He  is  the  stranger 
in  our  great  company  even  now.  If  He  were  to  return  and  re- 
peat His  words  we  should  turn  our  backs  on  Him  as  they  did  of 
old.  We  are  millions  of  miles  distant  from  the  truth  He  taught. 
How  close  the  Father  was  to  Him !  And  yet  no  closer  than  He 
may  be  to  us.  How  calm  under  the  stress  of  affliction  He  was! 
And  yet  not  more  so  than  we  can  be  when  we  get  our  spiritual 
food.  From  the  same  source,  how  constantly  He  felt  the  pres- 
ence of  unseen  beings,  and  what  support  they  brought !  And  yet, 
though  this  is  so  strange  that  we  can  scarce  believe  it,  those  same 
angels  and  our  beloved  ones  are  as  nigh  to  us  as  they  were  to 
Him. 

We  must  realize  these  things,  we  must  meditate  upon  them 
until  they  become  a  part  of  us,  and  we  must  appropriate  them  to 
our  own  use.  Then  the  bitterness  of  life  will  give  way  to  sweet- 
ness. There  will  be  rainbows  in  our  tears,  and  behind  our  sighs 
a  quiet  resignation.  There  will  be  more  hopefulness  in  our  hearts, 
a  strengthening  faith  which  can  endure  all  things,  and  our  religion 
will  be  a  series  of  light-houses,  enabling  us  to  steer  clear  of  shoals 
and  rocks,  and  to  anchor  in  the  haven  at  last. 

"  But  the  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith."    Galatians  V,  22, 


522  Book  of  Knowledge, 

LITTLE  THINGS. 
She  hath  done  what  she  could.    St.  Mark  XIV,  8. 

We  are  reminded  by  these  words  of  one  of  the  most  pathetic 
and  instructive  incidents  in  the  short  career  of  the  Christ.  It 
furnishes  us  with  a  standpoint  from  which  to  view  the  practical 
side  of  religion,  its  application  to  the  common  and  small  concerns 
of  life. 

The  results  of  scientific  research  are  of  very  little  compara- 
tive value  as  long  as  they  consist  of  mere  statement  of  facts. 
They  are  of  importance  only  when  they  are  made  to  add  to  our 
comfort  and  convenience.  The  theories  concerning  electricity, 
for  example,  are  always  interesting  and  always  claim  our  admir- 
ing attention,  but  while  they  are  speculative,  they  are  no  better 
than  a  pleasant  dream.  When,  however,  that  subtle  fluid  is  har- 
nessed to  a  car,  or  made  to  drive  an  engine,  when  it  flashes  along 
the  wire  and  carries  our  messages  of  love  or  business  to  distant 
points,  then  we  appreciate  its  practical  work  and  make  it  a  com- 
ponent part  of  our  lives ;  so  religion,  when  it  comes  to  us  in  the 
shape  of  theology,  is  a  g^est  whom  we  receive  into  our  household 
with  respect  and  reverence,  but  it  is  always  a  stranger  to  us, 
one  whom  we  cannot  quite  understand  and  whose  demands  are 
so  complicated  that  we  never  feel  entirely  at  home.  But  when  it 
sits  at  our  fireside,  as  a  fellow-traveller,  and  with  words  of  wis- 
dom tells  us  how  to  bear  our  burdens ;  how  to  fill  our  daily  task 
with  sweetness,  and  how  to  make  the  most  of  our  contracted  en- 
vironments, then  it  is  not  a  stranger  but  a  friend,  a  very  welcome 
friend  whom  we  are  glad  to  have  under  our  roof.  The  kind  of 
religion  I  prize  most  is  the  kind  which  sanctifies  the  lesser  duties 
and  gives  them  a  value,  which  in  our  ordinary  thinking,  they  do 
not  possess.  I  can  easily  see  the  grandeur  that  surrounds  the  sac- 
rifice of  life  to  a  noble  cause ;  the  daring  and  conspicuous  deeds  of 
heroism  which  save  the  country  in  its  moments  of  peril,  and  which 
many  a  generation  will  applaud;  but  it  is  the  harder  for  me  to 
see  if  I  do  my  daily  work  faithfully;  if  I  resist  the  temptations 
which  beset  me  in  my  professional  or  private  life;  and  if  I  make 
my  home  happy,  though  I  have  little  to  make  it  happy  with,  I 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  523 

really  achieve  the  highest  destiny  that  mortals  are  capable  of; 
and  though  the  world  will  be  silent  and  indifferent  when  I  die, 
I  shall  be  received  in  heaven  with  the  honors  which  true  heroism 
commands.  When  the  sister  of  Lazarus  anointed  the  feet  of  the 
Saviour  the  disciples  cried :  "  Why  was  this  waste  of  the  oint- 
ment made  ?  "  "  Then  took  Mary  a  pound  of  ointment  of  Spiken- 
ard, very  costly,  and  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  wiped  his 
feet  with  her  hair/*  St.  John  XII,  3.  They  knew  nothing  of  the 
high  philosophy  which  it  was  his  purpose  to  reveal.  They  were 
sordid,  narrow,  ignorant.  But  while  they  scolded  He  praised, 
and  declared  that  in  all  future  time  this  incident  should  be  kept 
in  remembrance.  They  could  see  nothing  but  the  three  hundred 
pence,  which  the  anointment  was  worth;  but  He  saw  the  love 
and  gratitude  in  the  woman's  heart  which  it  represented.  What 
was  to  them  a  wanton  waste  was  to  him  of  priceless  value.  One 
cannot  appreciate  spiritual  laws  until  his  emotions  are  stirred. 
Religion  may  consist  largely  of  great  thoughts,  but  great  thoughts 
must  rouse  noble  feelings,  before  the  circle  can  be  complete.  True 
religion  is  feeling  more  than  thinking;  it  must  lead  to  a  feeling 
before  the  journey  will  be  ended.  Give  me  the  heart  of  a  man  and 
I  am  not  afraid  his  brains  will  carry  him  far  away  from  me.  If 
I  have  the  love  of  my  friend  and  his  confidence  I  have  the  best 
part  of  him.  I  do  not  care  for  or  want  his  costly  gifts,  because 
they  are  costly,  but  I  do  care  for  any  gift,  however  small  it  may 
be,  which  shows  that  he  and  I  are  one ;  the  same  with  any  friend, 
man  or  woman,  it  is  not  the  price  of  a  gift,  but  its  sentiment 
that  gives  it  its  value.  It  seems  to  me  that  what  we  chiefly  lack 
in  our  domestic  relations  is  that  something  which  prompted 
Mary  to  anoint  the  feet  of  her  divine  guest  at  Bethany.  There 
is  too  much  of  the  commonplace  in  our  lives,  and  too  little  of  that 
sentiment  or  romance  which,  after  all,  is  worth  more  than  any- 
thing else.  Many  a  wife's  heart  is  broken  and  the  glory  of  many 
a  home  circle  obliterated,  or  at  any  rate  obscured,  because  of  the 
little  attentions,  which  in  earlier  days  we  were  so  eager  to 
bestow  and  receive,  have  given  way  to  indifference.  If  husbands 
and  wives  would  continue  to  be  the  lovers  after  marriage  as 
well  as  before  many  homes  which  are  now  broken  would  be  in 
complete  harmony.    When  children  begin  to  come  into  the  homes 


524  *  Book  of  Knowledge. 

how  soon  are  the  husband  and  wife  forgotten  for  the  Httle  ones. 
Yet  God,  the  Holy  Creator,  has  so  made  us  that  one  love  should 
not  conflict  with  another.  We  have  the  love  for  the  father  and 
mother,  sister  and  brother,  husband  and  wife,  children  and 
friends,  all  through  a  divine  law,  like  a  mosaic  floor — each  niche 
has  its  place.    But  we  ourselves  change  that,  not  our  Creator. 

The  five  senses  alone  have  made  me  realize  and  recognize 
the  great  Creator,  and  have  proven  to  me  the  life  hereafter.  I 
have  heard  seemingly  intelligent  people  say,  "  Yes,  yes,  it  is 
nature;  we  have  not  time  to  question  that  now."  Yet  there 
comes  a  time  when  they  will  be  sorry  that  they  did  not  make  it 
a  part  of  their  lives  while  here. 

"  And  He  turned  Him  unto  His  disciples,  and  said  privately, 
'  Blessed  are  the  eyes  that  see  the  things  that  ye  see.^  "    St.  Luke 

"  For  I  tell  you  that  many  prophets  and  kings  have  desired 
to  see  those  things  which  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen  them ;  and  to 
hear  those  things  which  ye  hear,  and  have  not  heard  them."  St. 
Luke  X,  24. 

HERESY. 

My  heart  shall  not  reproach  me  so  long  as  I  live.  Job 
XXVH,  6. 

It  is  very  important  that  your  heart  or  conscience  shall  not 
accuse  you.  Your  happiness  does  not  depend  upon  the  conscience 
or  heart  of  any  one  else,  but  on  your  own.  God  gave  you  a  con- 
science with  the  command  that  you  should  follow  its  behests, 
and  when  you  go  into  the  other  world,  that  conscience  will  be 
your  judge.  In  other  words,  God  will  not  judge  you,  but  you 
will  judge  yourself.  It  is  your  conscience  that  makes  you  an 
individual;  which  spiritually  isolates  you;  and  its  approval  is 
worth  more  than  the  approval  of  all  the  world  besides.  You  can- 
not go  far  wrong  if  you  always  do  what  you  think  is  right. 
You  may  ask  advice,  but  you  must  decide  for  yourself  what  it  is 
best  to  do  and  then  do  it,  whether  people  blame  or  praise.  If 
every  one  were  to  follow  this  rule  we  should  have  a  large  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  men,  but  above  it  all  a  divine  harmony  of 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes  525 

purpose.  When  the  millennium  comes  (the  knowledge  of  spirit- 
ual communication  between  the  two  worids),  we  shall  not  all 
think  alike,  neither  shall  we  allow  any  one  to  do  our  thinking  for 
us,  but  we  shall  think  for  ourselves,  until  thinking  changes  to 
conviction.  Then  we  shall  follow  our  convictions  as  we  follow 
the  flag  of  our  country ;  and  hold  to  them,  and  be  true  to  them, 
and  so  win  the  smile  of  God. 

What  you  need  most  of  all  is  to  be  your  best,  truest,  and 
noblest  self.  For  that  end  you  came  into  the  world,  and  unless 
you  accomplish  that  end  your  life  will  be  essentially  a  failure, 
and  the  requirements  of  the  Almighty  will  stand  neglected.  Men 
may  call  you  heretical,  but  what  men  say  of  you  is  of  no  import- 
ance in  comparison  with  what  God  will  say.  Your  business  is 
to  be  on  His  side,  and  to  be  sure  in  your  heart  that  He  is  on  youi* 
side.  If  after  that  people  are  with  you  you  may  well  rejoice ;  but 
if  they  are  not,  that  is  their  affair  and  not  yours.  Your  duty  is 
what  you  think  your  duty  is,  after  the  enlightenment  or  illumina- 
tion which  always  comes  to  him  who  is  in  accord  with  the  God 
Powder  of  the  universe,  and  thus  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  the 
spiritual  life.  To  that  duty  you  should  never  be  false,  for  it  is 
what  makes  you  a  living  soul ;  what  brings  nobility  of  character ; 
what  opens  the  door  of  communication  with  the  other  world; 
what  gives  you  a  claim  to  the  assistance  of  the  angels,  and  assures 
you  of  the  helping  hand  of  the  Most  High. 

Not  he  is  religious,  in  any  wide  sense,  who  is  merely  the 
shadow  of  someone  else's  mind,  but  he  who  casts  his  own  shadow, 
because  he  is  a  solid  substance  on  which  the  sun  shines. 

This  is  a  very  queer  world  in  one  respect.  We  like  to  be  sheep 
and  follow  a  bell-wether.  Even  in  matters  of  dress,  we  must 
needs  be  told  what  to  wear,  and  whether  it  is  comely  or  uncomely, 
we  v/ear  it.  In  the  matter  of  religion  there  is  as  much  fashion  as 
there  is  in  dress.  What  the  majority  believe  we  try  to  believe, 
because  it  is  so  easy  to  go  with  the  majority.  If  it  does  not  com- 
mend itself  to  our  judgment  we  secretly  dissent,  but  openly  ap- 
prove. This  introduces  an  element  of  hypocrisy  into  the  "  Holy 
of  Holies,"  demoralizes  mind  and  heart,  forces  from  us  our  self- 
respect,  and  deprives  us  of  heavenly  recognition  and  approval. 
Our  vital  energy  is  sapped,  our  manliness  and  womanliness  are 


526  Book  of  Knowledge. 

injured,  unless  we  can  say  of  an  opinion,  I  formed  it  myself, 
and  it  is  therefore  mine. 

In  this  matter  of  belief,  of  religious  belief,  you  are  to  search 
for  the  truth — God's  truth — Christ's  truth — eternal  truth.  You 
are  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  your  soul,  and  what  you  bring 
therefrom  is  to  be  the  foundation  on  which  to  build  your  life  and 
character.  The  world  may  say  nay,  or  it  may  say  yea ;  it  makes 
no  difference.  You  are  to  be  governed  solely  by  God's  yea  and 
nay,  as  the  words  are  whispered  in  your  ear  by  Him  who  reveals 
Himself  to  every  man,  during  every  day  and  hour  of  his  life. 
You  may  not  get  at  the  whole  truth,  eternity  must  unfold  itself 
before  you  can  know  that;  but  you  will  get  at  that  much  of  the 
truth  as  will  serve  your  purpose,  be  it  great  or  small.  Men  may 
tell  you  to  believe  this  or  that — it  is  nothing.  You  may  believe 
as  others  do,  or  you  may  not;  but  if  you  will  believe  what  God 
shall  teach  you  when  He  and  you  are  together,  in  the  sad  and 
glad  experiences  which  will  fall  to  your  lot,  then  your  days  will 
be  radiant,  and  you  will  be  at  peace.  The  only  real  heresy  is  the 
heresy  of  an  evil  life.  Honest  belief  is  never  heresy,  but  dishonest 
living  is  always  heresy.  To  be  false  to  a  high  ideal;  to  grovel 
when  you  ought  to  soar;  to  be  entangled  in  the  delusive  am- 
bitions of  this  world  when  you  ought  to  keep  your  soul  bright 
and  clear  and  pure;  to  unmake  yourself  by  immortalities  when 
you  should  be  building  for  eternity ;  to  be  mean  when  you  should 
be  great ;  these  constitute  a  heresy  which  is  abhorred  in  heaven. 
"  But  he  that  doeth  wrong  shall  receive  for  the  wrong  which  he 
hath  done ;  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons."    Colossians  HI,  23. 

He  who  lives  nobly  is  no  heretic  whether  his  creed  be  long 
or  short.  He  who  lives  on  a  low  moral  level  is  the  heretic,  though 
his  creed  be  a  furlong  in  length.  I  say,  therefore  be  yourself, 
and  make  yourself  all  you  are  capable  of  becoming.  High  living 
alone  is  like  true  Spiritualism,  and  high  living  is  the  result  of 
pure  feeling  and  lofty  thinking.  If  your  conscience  tells  you 
that  you  are  right,  you  have  nothing  to  fear,  either  here  or  here- 
after. 

**  Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with  what  judgment 
ye  judge  ye  shall  be  judged;  and  with  what  measure  ye  mete 
it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again."    Matthew  VII,  1-2. 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  527 


WHAT  MAN   MAY  DO. 

Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand 
of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  St.  Matthew 
XXVI,  64. 

If  I  say  that  every  man  creates  the  world  in  which  he  lives, 
I  am  strictly  within  the  limits  of  a  truthful  statement.  A  man's 
environment  is  the  smallest  part  of  his  world.  The  world  that 
is  made  by  circumstances,  or  by  accident  of  birth  and  wealth,  of 
social  position,  or  even  of  genius,  has  less  to  do  with  the  happiness 
than  the  world  which  he  creates  himself,  and  in  which  his  real 
life  is  passed.  If  I  were  a  magician  I  might  give  you  fame,  or 
beauty,  or  valor,  or  untold  and  inexhaustible  riches,  but  in  be- 
stowing these  things  I  should  not  necessarily  make  you  either 
contented  or  useful.  It  is  even  possible  that  I  might  merely  add 
fuel  to  the  consuming  fire  of  your  selfishness  or  avarice.  These 
gifts  might  prove  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  They  are  fre- 
quently real  obstacles  in  the  formation  of  a  nobler  character,  and 
the  man  who  possesses  them  may  perhaps  remember  only  his 
rights  and  forget  all  his  duties,  may  close  his  heart  to  that  sym- 
pathy and  charity  which  are  the  chief  elements  of  a  grand  and 
beautiful  life.  Indeed,  it  has  become  almost  an  inevitable  fact 
that  he  who  begins  his  career  with  what  the  majority  of  people 
think  the  most  desirable  things,  is  apt  to  end  it  in  disappointment 
and  in  a  conspicuous  lack  of  high  achievements.  The  boy  who 
is  cradled  in  wealth  is  by  no  means  to  be  envied,  for  he  is  sur- 
rounded by  dangers  which  will  compass  his  ruin  unless  he  is 
exceptionally  strong.  He  also  knows  the  worth  of  money  who 
is  compelled  to  work  for  it ;  and  he  alone  knows  the  full  meaning 
of  life  who  stands  face  to  face  with  difficulty  and  who  attains 
success  after  a  hard  struggle.  You  are  not  made,  therefore,  by 
your  outward  circumstances,  and  they  are  of  much  less  impor- 
tance than  you  think.  Not  what  is  without  but  what  is  within 
determines  your  character.  If  I  want  to  know  what  you  are 
I  must  find  my  way  into  your  soul.  I  do  not  care  for  your  bank 
account,  because  that  belongs  as  much  to  your  heirs  as  to  you; 
neither  do  I  care  for  your  palace,  or  your  gallery,  or  your  lands. 


5a8  Book  of  Knowledge. 

or  your  pictures,  because  these  are  yours  temporarily  and  ere 
many  years  you  will  make  your  exit  and  leave  them  all  behind. 
You  will,  however,  carry  your  soul  with  you  wherever  you  go,  and 
for  that  reason  I  do  not  know  what  you  are  worth  until  I  make 
the  acquaintance  of  that  soul.  If  that  is  not  what  it  should  be, 
you  will  miss  such  trinkets  as  wealth  can  buy,  and  find  yourself 
a  poor  man  in  the  future  life.  But  if  your  soul  is  rich,  then  you 
are  rich  forever,  and  not  even  death  can  rob  you  of  your  posses- 
sions. I  insist,  therefore,  that  if  you  wish  to  live  in  a  beautiful 
world  you  must  create  it.  It  may  be  a  difficult  task,  but  with 
the  help  of  God  it  can  be  done.  It  is,  indeed,  the  kind  of  work 
He  intended  you  to  do,  and  for  which  He  has  given  you  the 
requisite  ability. 

For  example,  if  you  have  hatred  in  your  heart,  or  if  your 
heart  is  filled  with  envy,  ill  will  and  ill  nature ;  if  you  have  an  un- 
controllable temper,  or  are  ready  at  all  times  to  sacrifice  honor 
to  gain;  if  you  are  narrow  in  criticism  and  suspicious  of  those 
about  you;  if  you  can  see  a  bad  motive  but  never  a  good  one; 
you  have  already  exercised  your  creative  faculty  and  made  a 
very  hell  for  yourself.  You  may  enjoy  a  mean  and  contemptible 
sort  of  happiness,  which  is  stained  and  soiled  by  the  suffering  of 
others,  but  that  is  all.  You  live  in  the  world,  getting  all  you  can, 
but  giving  nothing.  Your  attitude  toward  others  forces  them  to 
assume  the  same  attitude  toward  you.  Your  hand  is  against  every 
man ;  you  live  with  a  constant  thorn  in  the  flesh.  It  is  your  world, 
and  you  are  responsible  for  what  is  in  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  you  are  charitable  and  kindly;  if  love 
and  the  desire  to  be  helpful  are  the  supreme  incentives  to  action ; 
if  you  are  charitable  in  your  judgments,  generous  in  your  deal- 
ings, and  honest  in  your  transactions,  you  make  a  heaven  for 
yourself,  which  is  filled  not  only  with  self-respect  and  a  conscious- 
ness of  rectitude,  but  with  the  good  will  and  sympathy  of  all 
around  you.  The  love  >ou  give  is  returned  with  interest.  The 
life  you  live  is  a  blessing  to  every  one  who  meets  you,  and  all 
the  earth  is  enriched  by  your  words,  your  deeds,  your  example. 
With  God's  help  and  that  of  the  angels  you  have  wrought  a 
miracle,  for  you  have  made  a  world  in  which  he  delights  to  dwell, 
and  to  which  the  angels  of  heaven  will  come  as  your  guests.    We 


The  Man  Who  Looks  Out  of  Your  Eyes.  529 

are  not  weak;  we  are  strong,  if  our  faith  is  strong.  This  Hfe 
may  be  made  beautiful  or  wretched  by  the  quaHties  of  mind 
which  we  cherish.  God  has  placed  almost  infinite  power  in  our 
hands  and  we  are  responsible  for  its  use.  If  we  recognize  these 
facts,  we  shall  live  a  heavenly  life,  because  we  live  the  true  life. 
"  Who  maketh  his  angels  spirits  and  his  ministers  a  flame  of 
fire."    Hebrews  I,  7. 


CHAPTER  XXIV, 

WHAT   IS   RELIGION? 

And  Jesus  answering  said  unto  them,  "Do  ye  not  therefore 
err,  because  ye  know  not  the  Scriptures,  neither  the  power  of 
God"    St.  Mark  XII,  24. 

The  doctrine  of  total  depravity  I  do  not  accept,  but  it  con- 
tains an  axiom  of  truth  which  everybody  beHeves,  clothed  in  a 
bold  and  reckless  statement  which  nobody  believes.  To  say  that 
all  men  are  bad  is  false,  if  human  experience  counts  for  anything. 
To  say  that  all  men  are  wholly  bad  is  simply  incredible ;  we  know 
ourselves  well  enough  to  arrive  at  a  very  different  conclusion. 
We  are  all  conscious  that  there  is  a  foundation  of  good  in  the 
soul  on  which  to  build  a  noble  character  if  we  choose  to  do  so; 
that  is  the  verdict  of  every  man  who  lives. 

When,  however,  I  see  a  man  do  what  he  knows  will  injure 
him,  indulge  in  forbidden  pleasures  without  reckoning  the  conse- 
quences— pleasures  which  are  forbidden  because  the  world  is  so 
made  that  they  cannot  result  in  any  other  way — then  I  feel  like 
formulating  a  new  doctrine,  to  be  called  Unaccountable  Per- 
versity; and  when  I  see  a  man  who  knows  that  a  broken  law 
always  avenges  itself,  but  still  persists  in  evil  habits  under  a 
curious  hallucination  that,  while  everybody  else  has  been  over- 
taken, he  will  himself  escape;  then  I  want  to  formulate  another 
doctrine,  to  be  called  Inordinate  Self-Conceit.  Herein  lies  a 
mystery  and  only  true  religion  can  make  it  clear;  a  puzzle,  and 
only  religion,  which  is  another  word  for  sane  and  reasonable 
outlook,  can  solve  it. 

A  man  will  not  put  his  hand  into  the  fire  because  the  con- 
sequence is  both  immediate  and  painful ;  neither  will  he  swallow 
a  rank  poison;  nor  yet  will  he  recklessly  jump  from  a  precipice. 
He  has  too  much  regard  for  himself,  his  physical  integrity,  to  do 
any  of  these  things.    They  have  no  temptation  for  him  because 


What  is  Religion?  53_i 

he  has  a  wholesome  and  restraining  fear.  If  you  push  him  to 
take  the  poison  or  to  take  the  leap,  he  looks  on  you  as  an  enemy 
and  treats  you  with  scorn.  He  will  resent  either  proposal  as  an 
insult  to  his  common  sense.  Tell  him  that  he  can  escape  un- 
scathed, argue  the  matter  with  him  as  eloquently  as  you  please, 
you  cannot  persuade  him.  He  not  only  refuses,  but  does  it  in 
such  a  way  that  you  are  at  once  silenced.  But  in  spiritual  con- 
cerns the  rule  does  not  hold  good.  The  man  who  will  not  cut 
his  arm  will  gash  his  character  and  not  give  the  wound  a  second 
thought.  When  he  does  a  wrong  deed  he  knows  he  has  injured 
himself,  but  he  does  not  want  to  believe  it.  That  is  the  puzzle. 
He  is  a  bundle  of  contradictions,  for  he  will  deliberately  make 
himself  a  drunkard,  ruin  his  body,  bring  his  family  to  misery 
and  poverty,  and  keenly  regret  every  downward  step  he  takes. 
I  am  sure  that  a  bad  man's  life  is  full  of  wonder  and  grief  that 
he  is  bad,  and  full  of  resolutions  to  reform ;  good  impulses,  noble 
elements  of  nature,  lovable  qualities,  are  in  conjunction  with  a 
course  of  which  he  is  ashamed,  but  in  which  he  persistently  per- 
sists. He  is  neither  totally  one  thing  nor  wholly  another,  for 
there  is  an  angel  in  his  nature  in  arm  with  the  so-called  devil. 
Such  a  man  may  be  awake  physically  but  he  is  sound  asleep  spir- 
itually; but  when  he  once  awakens  and  realizes  that  his  angel 
mother  or  sister,  father  or  brother,  sweetheart,  wife,  or  child  is 
fully  cognizant  of  all  he  is  doing,  then  he  will  rouse  from  tht 
lower  to  the  higher  thought  of  the  God  Power.  When  he  fully 
realizes  that  his  loved  ones  are  not  dead,  but  living  in  the  life 
beyond  how  different  this  lower  life  will  appear  to  him!  As  it 
is  now,  he  lacks  an  appreciation  of  the  real  value  and  the  real  val- 
uation of  things.  He  is  not  so  much  depraved  as  he  is  ignorant. 
He  must  be  taught  a  new  lesson.  He  must  learn  some  awful 
facts,  one  of  which  is,  that  an  injury  done  to  the  soul  is  a  thousand 
times  worse  than  if  done  to  the  body.  He  does  not  know  that  as 
yet  he  is  a  mature  animal,  with  undeveloped  spiritual  possibilities. 
This  is  a  hard  saying,  but  we  are  all  conscious  that  it  is  true. 
Most  of  us  have  more  of  the  animal  than  of  the  angel  in  us,  but 
still  the  animal  displays  better  judgment  of  God's  laws  than  many 
men  and  women. 

What  is  true  religion?  It  is  the  one  thing  we  need.     It 


5^11  Book  of  Knowledge. 

IS  the  source  of  soul  education.  It  is  the  only  thing  that  will 
save  us  from  bur  lower  selves  by  telling  us  how  to  rise  above  our- 
selves. No  man  or  woman  can  make  any  other  but  a  false  start 
without  it.  Its  sphere  of  influence  begins  even  before  the  child 
is  born,  and  ends  when  eternity  ends.  There  is  something  pecu- 
liar about  religion.  When  you  recognize  the  fact  that  the  world, 
physically,  intellectually  and  spiritually,  Js  governed  by  inexorable 
Jaw;  that  this  law  is  stronger  than  you;  and  there  is  no  way  to 
evade  or  avoid  it  and  that  if  you  attempt  to  do  so  you  will  suffer 
inevitable  defeat,  then  you  are  on  the  threshold  of  a  great  revela- 
tion. But  at  this  point  you  are  not  necessarily  religious ;  you  are 
simply  scientific ;  your  brain  is  all  right,  but  your  heart,  your 
motives  may  be  all  wrong,  when  you  make  the  discovery  that 
above  all  law  is  the  God  who  decreed  it ;  fitted  the  law  to  you 
and  fitted  you  to  the  law ;  that  when  you  are  tempted  to  break  it, 
in  a  moment  of  aberration,  He  will  help  you  to  recover  yourself 
by  putting  into  operation  another  law ;  that  when  you  are  in  accord 
with  Ilim;  when  you  see  that  He  knows  best;  when  you  lay  aside 
your  self-conceit,  which  prompts  you  ignorantly  to  find  fault  with 
Him;  when  you  live  and  move  and  have  your  being  in  Him  as 
your  Father;  when  you  can  delight  in  His  laws;  then,  and  then 
only,  are  you  as  religious  a  follower  as  the  Christ.  The  right 
kind  of  religion,  therefore,  is  the  sublimest  thing  conceivable. 
It  produces  a  state  of  mind  receptive,  truthful,  joyful,  healthful 
and  marvellous.  Under  its  influence  our  lives  are  set  to  music, 
not  always  glad  but  always  hopeful.  The  soul  grows  to  mature 
proportions,  as  quite  resigned,  mellowed  by  experience,  as  fruit 
ripens  in  the  sunshine  and  shower.  Religion  as  Christ  understood 
it  and  practised  it  is  the  grandest  thing  on  earth  and  the  best 
thing  in  heaven. 

"  Seeing  ye  have  purified  your  souls  in  obeying  the  truth 
through  the  Spirit  unto  unfeigned  love  of  the  brethren,  see  that 
ye  love  one  another  with  a  pure  heart  fervently."    i  Peter  I,  22, 


What  is  Religion?  533 

LET   THE   GOOD   ANGELS   COME   IN. 

Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what 
ye  shall  eat  or  what  ye  shall  drink;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what 
ye  shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat,  and  the  body 
than  raiment?    St.  Matthew  VI,  25. 

What  grand  lessons  of  Hfe  and  duty ;  what  sublime  principles 
of  enriched  manhood;  of  abiding  trust;  of  upright  and  noble 
living,  do  we  not  hear  continually  from  our  angel  helpers  and 
friends,  through  lips  touched  with  their  inspiration!  Whoever 
lives  up  to  their  teachings  will  live  as  close  to  the  heart  of  God 
as  it  is  possible  to  get.  The  fault  is  not  in  Spiritualism  but  in 
ourselves  that  Spiritualists  are  not  always  exactly  what  they 
should  be.  There  comes  a  time  in  the  life  of  every  person  when 
he  must  realize  that  his  brief  day  of  existence  is  drawing  to  a 
close;  when  his  eye  loses  its  lustre  and  the  step  its  elasticity,  and 
he  must  feel  that  he  is  nearing  the  inevitable  change  that  comes 
to  all.  Have  you  reached  that  time,  dear  reader  ?  If  so,  you  must 
know  there  is  not  much  more  of  this  earth  life  for  you.  You 
must  know  that  the  shadows  you  see  in  the  distance  are  the  mists 
that  hang  over  the  river  beyond,  the  home  of  the  immortal  soul. 
Isn't  it  about  time,  if  you  haven't  done  so  already,  that  you  be- 
gin to  put  yourself  in  readiness  for  the  long  journey?  You  will 
need  something  to  take  with  you.  What  have  you  among  your 
assets  that  you  will  want,  or  that  will  be  of  any  use  to  you  over 
there?  Surely  nothing  of  a  temporal  character;  that  you  must 
dispose  of  or  make  proper  use  of  it  before  you  go,  or  it  will  weigh 
you  down.  Then  what  have  you  left  that  will  be  of  real  worth 
to  you  when  you  shall  cross  over  and  awaken  to  the  new  life  on 
the  other  shore?  Is  not  the  subject  worthy  of  your  thought,  and 
would  it  not  be  well  for  us  all  to  close  the  doors  of  our  souls  to 
the  world  for  a  little  while,  take  an  account  of  stock,  and  see  just 
where  we  stand? 

Let  the  good  angels  come  in ;  let  them  come  into  your  hearts, 
and  let  them  take  up  their  abode  in  your  homes.  You  have  no 
idea  how  they  will  lighten  your  cares  and  "  roll  the  stone  away 
from  the  sepulchre." 


534  Book  of  Knowledge. 

"  For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also.' 
St.  Matthew  VI,  21. 


SIGNS  AND   WONDERS. 

Truly  the  signs  of  an  apostle  were  wrought  among  you  in  all 
patience  in  signs  and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds.    2  Cor.  XII,  12. 

When  the  Master  was  on  earth,  he  said  that  certain  signs  and 
wonders  should  follow  those  that  believe,  and  that  greater  things 
than  He  did,  they  should  do.  He  evidently  meant  what  He  said ; 
but  what  are  the  signs  and  wonders  of  those  that  pretend  to 
believe  in  these  later  ages  of  Qiristianity.  Do  they  heal  the  sick 
by  the  laying  on  of  hands  ?  Are  they  superior  to  the  deadly  effects 
of  poison?  Not  at  all.  Then  how  can  they  be  His  disciples? 
The  marvellous  phenomena  attending  the  manifestation  of  the 
Spirit,  under  the  name  of  modern  Spiritualism,  seems  to  be  a 
literal  fulfilment  of  the  great  Teacher's  predictions  in  many 
things.  "  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  "  many  truths  are  spoken, 
and  they  are  made  to  speak  and  write  in  languages  whereof  they 
have  no  knowledge. 

The  sick  are  healed  by  Spirit  power  and  many  strange  signs 
are  given  to  teach  man  the  true  way  of  life ;  but  only  the  wise  are 
receptive  to  the  truth. 

There  is  an  assurance,  an  abiding  comfort  and  confidence  in 
a  knowledge  of  the  Spirit  existence  and  communion  as  enjoyed  by 
all  true  Spiritualists,  that  no  faith  in  things  unseen  and  unknown 
can  possibly  give.  To  the  true  Spiritualist  the  dark  problem  of 
the  grave  has  been  solved.  For  him  the  future  has  no  terror, 
and  he  is  reconciled  to  bear  the  burdens  of  life  patiently,  knowing 
that  thereby  he  is  better  preparing  himself  for  his  home  in  Spirit 
life  and  for  the  companionship  of  loved  ones  gone  before. 


Now,  my  beloved  children,  patients,  and  readers — we  have 
completed  our  "  Book  of  Knowledge :  Psychic  Facts."  We  hope 
you  will  enjoy  reading  it  as  much  as  we  have  enjoyed  writing 
and  preparing  it,  and  as  soon  as  I  am  fully  rested  I  will  return  to 
you  until  I  am  called  by  the  God  Power. 

"  Yet  a  little  while  and  the  world  seeth  me  no  more,  but  ye  see 
me ;  because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also."    St.  John  XIV,  19. 


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